An Excuse, Maybe
by HappyFrogLegs
Summary: After the war, all seems peaceful. Until Antauri gets a telepathic message from a girl imprisoned. Not only that but they are also about to come across on old enemy that may have changed in very big ways. Axoc, MxO, Spova, and Chinmy. Mary sue parody sorta. Mpreg in later chapters. T for language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

Hey guess who decided to finish an entire fanfic in five months for once!? Me! So yeah this will be my first finished story on here I'm actually kind of proud of myself a bit. So basically this is a mary sue fic, or a mary sue parody. Now I love mary sues, I really love them. I love the crazy backstories, the powers, and just everything! Thing is I see so many parody mary sue fics where the mary sue is hated by everyone and is over the top. While I love the over the top tone I really want to see more fics where it's played as a real suefic or at least done something with the mary sue lore. So if you find yourself going 'holy hell this chick is a sue' or 'this is kinda mary sueish' then hey my evil plan is working! So I do hope you enjoy this story.

Oh and the mpreg? Yeah if mpreg ain't your cup of tea then I suggest not reading this because there's gonna be a lot of it. I don't own srmthfg, but if I did ooh boy the stuff I would come up with for season 5.

* * *

Nearly a year ago, the war has ended. The Skeleton King has become the Alchemist thanks to Chiro's power primate, Mandarin disappeared, and life couldn't be better. The Alchemist left Shuggazoom to work on healing what he can, gather research, and just wanted to finish whatever he wanted before his body eventually gives in. As for the Hyperforce? Well other than fighting off villains that popped up every now and then, the team mostly did celebrity events and just enjoyed themselves.

The team was relaxing one day after training., Chiro and Antauri were meditating with each other. Antauri peeked one eye at the soon to be seventeen year old. He has grown so much these past few years, and he couldn't be prouder. He felt Chiro had become more responsible, kinder, and a bit more mature. Antauri felt changes with the team too, big and small. There was less stress on their shoulders and their happiness showed each day.

He closed his eyes again and concentrated. Pure silence and peace was in his mind.

 _"..elp!"_

Antauri flinched, causing Chiro to snap out of his concentration.

"Antauri?" Chiro questioned.

Antauri didn't respond, he kept focusing on who was calling to him.

 _"He..lp!"_ The voice became louder and more clear.

"Who is this?" He asked, telepathically.

The voice gasped and gave a sigh of relief.

 _"You have to help! This skeletal freak is holding me prisoner! I tried fighting him off but his creepy minions had the upper hand! He wants to use my powers to destroy everything!"_ The female voice pleaded.

Chiro stood up, concerned that Antauri wasn't responding. Antauri flinched when the voice mentioned a 'skeletal freak'. Mandarin!

"Do not worry, we'll be on our way, but you have to tell us where you are!"

 _"Umm..uhh..oh! The planet's name is Vixus! It seems desolate but there's a base underneath a cliff side near a crater! Please hurry!"_ The voice pleaded before no longer speaking.

Antauri's eyes shot open and he turned to Chiro.

"Antauri what's-"

"Get the others, we have an emergency!"

Gibson typed the planet's name into the database and frowned a bit. The light purple planet was void of any life and was full of different barren landscapes.

"Antauri, are you sure this is the right planet?" He asked.

Antauri nodded.

"The woman's voice said Mandarin's lair is underneath a cliffside near a crater." He said.

Gibson looked for such a thing until he came across a huge crater near a large cliff.

"That's the one I'm guessing?"

Antauri nodded, there was no denying it. Sprx looked over at Antauri suspiciously.

"Are you sure about this Antauri? What if it's Mandarin trying to trap us?" He asked.

Antauri side glanced him and frowned a bit.

"Sprx I felt her fear and panic, it was all real. I would have sensed if she was lying." He said, receiving a small nod from Sprx.

Chiro sighed, just when things were getting peaceful. He then looked up at the cliff seriously.

"If Mandarin is planning to use this woman's powers to destroy everything in his path, we have to stop it." He said.

"Maybe we'll finally imprison this guy for good. Who knows how much trouble he'll cause with this poor girl." Nova said.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get there!" Jinmay exclaimed.

Chiro nodded and raised a fist.

"Monkeys Mobilize!"

The team rushed to their stations and quickly blasted off into the sky. A new mission has begun.

* * *

Gibson pressed a few buttons, getting some statistics.

"Chiro the overall trip would take several weeks if we don't go into hyperspeed. Vixus is nearly on the other side of the quadrant." He explained.

"Jeez Mandarin escaped that far?!" Otto exclaimed.

"He probably wanted us to give up looking for him if he went far away enough. Pretty stupid if you ask me." Nova snickered.

Chiro nodded. Somehow Mandarin's tact has become more brash and reckless in recent years. Perhaps working with Skeleton king made his intelligence drop the tiniest bit.

"Understood Gibson. Team, race for hyperspeed!" Chiro said.

The Super Robot soon kicked into hyperspeed until they reached Vixus. Antauri gripped the handlebars in the fist rocket.

"Don't worry, we're coming." He thought, almost sending a telepathic message to Mandarin's prisoner.

They soon landed a ways a bit from the cliff side, trying to hide themselves. Jinmay looked over Gibson's shoulder as they left the robot.

"Gibson can you find a way into the base without getting us spotted?" She asked.

Gibson took out his scanner and looked over it. After a minute he looked over at one side of the cliff side and pointed to it.

"If we go there and create a pathway inside, we can get into one of the empty hallways and find where Mandarin is keeping the girl." He explained.

Nova cracked her knuckles.

"Oh it would be so good to kick his butt again!" She sighed before being elbowed by Sprx.

"Come on now love, save your temper for if we face him." He snickered, causing him to be elbowed back.

"Save your carefree attitude for later then!" She scoffed.

Antauri cleared his throat

"Come on you two, we have work to do." He sighed before the team snuck to the cliff side.

Gibson drilled a large hole and the team followed him down, down, down into the unknown.

* * *

So I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and don't worry, there'll be more. If you want to you can tell me your thoughts, I'm curious.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey! Chapter 2 is here, Christmas cheer! Ok it's not Christmas but whatever.

* * *

The team was surprised when they got into the base. The walls and floors were metallic and there were control panels a few feet away from each other.

"Man, Mandarin's been busy!" Otto whispered as he held up his saw a bit.

Chiro looked around, making sure there were no security cameras around.

"Gibson, if you see any cameras make sure you cover them." He whispered.

Gibson nodded and looked around. Antauri closed his eyes and tried to connect mentally with the girl.

"Miss, we're here. Can you tell us where exactly you are?" He asked.

The voice was silent for a while.

 _"Um let me peek out, the skeletal freak just left. Umm the halls are lined with other cells, but they're empty. I remember the door having a small window and it had a number padlock on it."_ The voice said.

Antauri nodded a bit.

"Alright, is there any way you can sense us?"

 _"Yes! Yes I can! Give me a sec."_ She said before going silent.

She then spoke again.

 _"I can sense you, you're not too far from here but please! Hurry! I don't know when he's coming back."_ The voice urged.

"Right, team follow me!" He said, leading the team down the hall.

They carefully looked from left to right, making sure that no one catches them. The silence was suspicious and uneasy to them. Gibson searched for any security cameras but only found one and covered it up with some sort of gunk. Antauri kept his eyes on the walls, looking at each passing door until one caught his eye. It had a small window and a number padlock on it. They went right up to the door

"No guards?" Chiro questioned.

"Mandarin must have them on stand by…" Otto muttered.

"Or he knows we're here and is setting up a trap." Sprx huffed.

That was a more likely situation, so the team would have to be prepared and stay on their toes. Gibson drilled the number padlock, causing the door to unlock and the team to step inside. The hall was filled with empty cells with bars made out of electricity.

"H-hey! Down here!" The voice called to them.

The team rushed down the hall until they came upon the source of the voice. In one of the cells sat a Woman a few years older than Chiro, probably in her twenties, with black red streaked hair and piercing red eyes. She wore a purple jacket with a black tank top underneath, and black and purple shorts. She also wore around her neck, black necklace with a red jewel in the middle. She had full red lips and an overall beautiful appearance. Antauri blinked a bit, surprised.

"A-are you the guy I was talking to?" She asked nervously.

Antauri was still dazed before realizing the woman asked him something.

"O-oh! Yes, yes I am." He said.

The woman frowned a bit.

"But you're a monk-" Her eyes then widened in realization.

"You're the Hyperforce! I heard all about you back home!" She exclaimed.

Sprx scratched his chin, were they really that well known throughout the galaxy? He also prayed that this girl wasn't just a edgier version of Krinkle. Chiro smiled a bit.

"Well don't worry, we're going to get you out of here. Sprx, deactivate the bars." Chiro ordered.

Sprx pulled out his magnets and pulled in the electricity of the bars.

"I'm on it!"

Soon the electricity bars were gone and the woman stood up. She smiled and sighed.

"Thank you so much. I tried to fight him off myself but...I was kinda outnumbered." She grumbled.

Nova snickered.

"Don't worry about it, we can take care of these creeps." She said.

The girl nodded as she stepped out of the cell and into the light.

"The name's Willow. Willow Clint." She introduced herself, holding out a hand to Antauri.

Antauri smiled a bit and shook her hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Willow." He said.

Chiro looked towards the door.

"We should continue introductions for when we get back to the robot, let's hurry!" He said.

Before Willow knew it, she was darting down the hall to where the team drilled into. Willow kept running until she stopped by a door. The others looked back at her.

"Willow?" Jinmay questioned.

They then saw her form fire in her hands and melt the door knob before kicking it off and going inside. She then rushed out with a backpack and a few other bags.

"Had to get my things, let's go!" She said.

The team looked at each other and continued running. They stopped when they saw several Formless in front of the hole, with Mandarin at the front.

"Hello, hairless monkey." He sneered.

Chiro and the others glared at him. Mandarin looked over to Willow.

"I see you've met my most useful prisoner, Willow." He said with a smile.

Willow glared at him, holding onto her bags tightly. Jinmay got in front of her, protecting her.

"What do you want with her?" She growled.

Mandarin raised an eyebrow and stepped forward.

"You new friend has a lot of interesting powers, some that I plan to use to finally win this war!" He said cruelly.

Sprx rolled his eyes.

"You guys lost the war, remember?" He scoffed, causing Mandarin to glare at him.

"Not to me! Now I will not allow you to take my prized weapon!"

Willow stomped her foot and growled, her red eyes almost glowing.

"I am nobody's weapon pal! You better get used to that!" She snapped.

Mandarin gave her a creepy smile before snapping his bony fingers.

"We shall see!" He cackled.

The Formless ran towards the team, weapons outstretched. The team began to fight against the Formless, attempting to keep Willow safe. Antauri sliced down some formless, trying to make a pathway when he came face to face with his ex leader. The two went hand to hand before Mandarin kicked him. Chiro watched as he fell to the ground before going at Mandarin. Nova and Sprx fought against the other Formless, their combined strength and powers made them as if they were one. Nova smiled, that was one thing they learned in the war. They found that they work amazingly together when fighting.

Nova punched a Formless before Sprx got in front of her and electrocuted another one. Otto curled into a ball and began to spin.

"Psycho Chopping Doom spin!" He yelled.

He destroyed a lot of Formless before one sneaked up behind him and smacked him. Gibson turned to him and began to go after the Formless.

Willow watched the fight, trying to think of a plan to help get them out of here. She looked towards the huge group of Formless and then to Mandarin, who was distracted by Chiro and Antauri. If he was so distracted then maybe he wouldn't notice-!

Willow waited for a clear shot before burning a huge amount of Formless with her fire breath, giving them a clear view of the exit. She turned to the others.

"Guys! Hurry!" She exclaimed.

Mandarin's eyes widened as he tried to wriggle out of Chiro's grasp. Chiro threw him to the other side of the hallway before the others darted towards the exit, Formless right behind them.

Mandarin sat up and growled.

"Don't let them get away!" He shouted.

The team escaped out of the hole and darted towards the robot, avoiding all of the weapons thrown at them. The door to the robot opened as everyone poured in.

"Come on team! Let's get out of here!" Chiro commanded before the robot began to lift off.

Mandarin ran outside and watched as the robot escaped into space. He growled and turned to the base. Looks like he would have to find a way back to Shuggazoom. He will not let his weapon get away.

Not without a fight anyway.

* * *

The robot escaped Vixus's atmosphere. The team had to make sure Mandarin wasn't following them. Chiro sighed in relief and looked towards Gibson.

"Gibson, put us in hyperspeed and take us home." He ordered with a smile.

Gibson typed a few buttons before he stopped.

"Chiro there isn't enough fuel for hyperspeed, we're going to have to find a place for fuel." He explained.

Everyone, minus Antauri, groaned.

"Find the closest pit stop for us." He said, receiving a nod from Gibson.

The team then turned to Willow, who looked around a bit. There was an awkward silence amongst the group before Otto began speaking.

"So uh...welcome to the robot!" He chirped.

Willow smiled a bit.

"Thank you, uh I kinda already know your names. Everyone on my home planet talks a lot about you." She said.

"Are we really that famous?" Jinmay asked, laughing nervously.

"Of course you are! You took out the Dark one worm and Skeleton king! You guys saved the galaxy!" She exclaimed before blushing.

"Oh sorry, that was kinda weird." She muttered.

Antauri chuckled a bit.

"No it's alright, it is very flattering." He said, causing Willow to smile again.

"Oh that's good...thank you so much for saving me." She said.

"It's no problem, it's what we do." Nova said, smiling.

Chiro walked up to her.

"So how did Mandarin find you?" He asked.

Willow sighed sadly a bit.

"Me and my friends were exploring this one planet, trying to see if any bad guys were there. Then he just came out of nowhere with those goop skeletons. They separated me and my friends and well...you kinda know what happened next." She explained.

"He said that he's heard of my services to other planets, how I helped them and other things."

Jinmay tilted her head a bit.

"Other things?" She asked, causing Willow to flinch.

"Uhm.. yeah! Anyway I think my friends are still on that planet...seems they wanted me more than them...I can still go back right?" She asked.

The team looked at each other worriedly. Antauri floated next to her.

"Easier said than done, miss Willow. Mandarin could still come after you, so I think it's best if you came with us." He said.

"B-but my friends-!" Willow began to argue.

"We'll call them when we get to Shuggazoom, right now we need to get away from Vixus and find somewhere for fuel." Chiro said.

Willow glared at him but looked to the floor, he has a point. However, she should call them. She looked at her phone and sighed, of course it had no signal. Willow huffed before looking at the others.

"So, I guess I'll be staying here then. If that's alright with you."

"Of course, we could use an pyrokinetic chick around here." Sprx snickered before Nova turned to him.

"Hey what about me?" She huffed but smiled.

Sprx patted her shoulder.

"You too, dear."

Willow snickered at the two.

"So do you have any other powers?" Otto curiously asked.

Willow flinched and looked away.

"I...I don't feel comfortable talking about that yet." She muttered.

The team looked at each other.

"But Willow we have-"

"Not yet!" She snapped, causing everyone to freeze.

Willow closed her eyes sighed.

"Look just...just give me time okay? My past isn't something I'd prefer to really talk about." She said.

Antauri nodded a bit, deciding not to press her for answers for the time being. The others felt the same, though now a new problem arose from this.

"So...where is she gonna sleep?" Nova asked.

Otto raised a hand.

"I can build her a room! Just give me a few days and it'll be set!" He chirped.

Chiro nodded.

"Okay now the question is where is she going to sleep until then?"

Nova's face flushed as Sprx wrapped an arm around her.

"Uhh I need my privacy so uh…"

Jinmay rubbed her shoulder.

"I'm still trying to fix the hole in my room so it may-"

"I wouldn't mind." Antauri's voice piped up.

There was a bit of silence before it exploded.

"W-w-w-w-w-with you?!" Willow squeaked.

"Antauri please tell me you're joking!" Otto exclaimed, shaking Antauri by the shoulders.

Antauri felt dizzy before he placed a hand on Otto's arm.

"Otto, she's safer with me! She and I had a psychic link, so it would be best if she stays with me in case anything happens." He explained.

The commotion died down after he said that, Willow still blushing.

"I will give you the privacy you need, d-don't worry about that." Antauri assured her, blushing slightly.

Willow only nodded a bit, rubbing her arm slightly. Why did she feel so awkward around him? Was it because of him suggesting sleeping in his room? Or was it she actually found him kind of cool?

"Well then, now that we're back to reality I think it's time we start on dinner." Chiro said, calming himself.

Everyone laughed but agreed. Willow smiled to herself and touched her necklace.

" _Don't worry Trent and Amanda...we'll see each other again soon._ " She thought.

* * *

The team got used to Willow's presence by the third day. She seemed pretty nice and polite, until she got angry. Sprx was thumped over the head over each stupid comment she heard, so it was safe to say she's a bit feisty. The team also quickly learned that she was a skilled fighter, training was almost a breeze to her. Her room was also nearly finished, all she really needed was some furniture.

Willow woke up one morning, the sounds of water running almost peaceful. She smiled as she looked around the room, this room was so nice and peaceful. Hopefully she could do something to achieve the same zen as this room has. Willow then realized, this was the first birthday she spent without her family. A twinge of sadness prickled her heart, knowing that she never will have this happen again. Antauri left his pod and hopped down. Sensing her sadness, he walked over to her.

"Good morning Willow." He greeted.

Willow turned her head.

"Oh! Uh Good morning." She said.

Antauri frowned a bit, concerned.

"What is it?" He asked.

Willow eyed off to the side.

"Nothing." She lied.

Antauri gave her a look and she sighed.

"Look it's no big deal I mean...it's my birthday and I never had it...I never had it without my…" Willow bit her lip.

Antauri's eyes widened, it was her birthday? He didn't know that!

"Oh Willow I...I didn't know…" Antauri muttered.

Willow waved her hand.

"Look it's fine, I know it won't be like this next I'm just gonna have to get over it." She sighed, getting up.

"But Willow-!"

However, she left the room and on her way to the kitchen. Antauri clenched his fists, there was no way he was going to let her birthday go like this. He just wasn't.

* * *

Willow yawned as she walked down the hallway, ready to go back into Antauri's room to read. Her vision suddenly turned black as a sack was placed over her head and she felt herself being dragged. She tried to fight them off but the next thing she knew, the sack was off and she saw the others in a purple room.

"Surprise!" everyone cheered.

Willow backed up a bit in surprise. The room was a deep purple with a large book shelf and a large bed next to it. The bed didn't really have any sheets or pillows yet, but still it was a bed. Willow looked around as Chiro held out a cake.

"I-I- what is this?" She asked, too shocked to move.

Sprx elbowed Antauri.

"Antauri told us it's your birthday and Otto got done with the room today, so we thought we'd like to surprise you." He said.

Willow's eyes widened.

"You guys didn't have to do this, I mean I've only been here for a few days-!" She began.

Nova held up a hand.

"Willow it's fine, we're friends aren't we? Besides it's the least we could do since we saved you and all." She said.

"Plus Otto and Sprx already made the cake, we aren't gonna waste it." Chiro wheezed, feeling the heaviness of the cake.

Willow looked at them, no one besides her family and Trent treated her this nicely before. Especially on her birthday. She dipped her head began to shake a bit, causing the others to look concerned.

"O-oh! We didn't mean to make you mad!" Jinmay said.

Sprx held up his hands. "Please don't beat us up over it either! We're only trying to be nice." He squeaked.

Willow suddenly sniffled and looked up, tears stinging her eyes.

"I know, thank you so much!" She sniffled, wiping her eyes.

The team smiled and looked at each other, glad their plan worked.

As the team ate cake and ice cream, Gibson was looking for fuel stops. He kept looking until one planet caught his eye. Gibson turned to Chiro, who took a bite of the black and red icing coated cake.

"Chiro! I found a place for us to get fuel!" He announced.

Everyone turned to him, now even more excited. Gibson tapped a few keys to show a dark blue and green planet with the name 'Elux'.

"Elux has enough minerals for us to make the trip home, though unfortunately not enough for us to activate hyperspeed." He said, sounding disappointed at the last part.

Chiro smiled and raised the thumbs up at him.

"That's fine Gibson, we can at least get some fuel to make it home." He said.

Everyone agreed, at least they'll be able to make it home. However, there was a sense of something about to happen on Elux. Almost as if something familiar was waiting for them.

* * *

Hmm I wonder what would be waiting for them? Hmmm? HMMMM? Anywho I hope you enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry if the last chapter was super long, anyway! Chapter 3! I really love this chapter because well...you'll see, you'll see.

* * *

When they landed on Elux, the team entered out of the robot. The blue and green landscape was truly beautiful to look at and especially at night. Chiro looked at Gibson.

"You said the mining site was..?"

Gibson pointed to an area a few feet away from them.

"It's right over there, it'll take an hour or two but after that we'll be good to go." He said with a smile.

Sprx then saw something out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey what's that over there?" He questioned.

Everyone turned to where Sprx was pointing at and saw what seemed to be several small buildings and tents. Antauri's eyes lit up.

"Of course, Elux is a merchant planet. life forms from all over come here to find products for cheap prices." He said.

Willow crossed her arms and smiled.

"So it's like one big flea market huh? Sounds like fun." She commented.

Otto grinned and turned to the others.

"Let's check it out! There could be a popcorn machine in there!" He said excitedly.

Gibson scoffed.

"Otto I doubt they have something like that there. Still it would be nice." He said, muttering the last part.

Chiro smiled a bit, kind of wanting to go over there.

"Let's go and check it out, it might be fun."

Otto hopped in place, ready to go, when he stopped and looked at Gibson.

"Wait do you need any help?" He asked, receiving Gibson raising a hand.

"Don't worry about it, I can get the minerals just fine. I do have these after all." Gibson said, transforming his hand into his drill.

Otto frowned a bit.

"But I don't want you to be by yourself…" He muttered.

Gibson smiled and patted the green monkey's shoulder.

"You'll be right over there, it's not a far walk from here. Besides if you need me I'll be right here, you should go have fun for a little while." He said.

Otto grinned widely and nearly tackled Gibson to the ground, making the others laugh a bit. The team then walked over to the village, Willow already thinking of things to buy for her new room with her birthday money. When they got there, it was pretty crowded for the most part.

"Hey! Do you want beaded necklaces?! Only for seven ceros!"

"Terran pistachios here! Available at an affordable price!"

"I have couches ready to go!"

The aura of the place was exciting, merchant tents of various colors and shapes held various items on display. It was cheery, nearly borderline annoyingly peppy. Chiro looked around a bit.

"Alright team, let's stick together until we get somewhere where it's not as crowded." He suggested.

The team agreed and walked around the area. The team was looking through various items and tents, with Willow purchasing things she needed for her bedroom and Otto buying random crap just because it looked fun. Sprx snickered as he held up a drink hat.

"Hey Antauri, you could use another one of these." He snickered.

Antauri was about to frown but went over to the drink hat and stared at it. He turned to the merchant selling it.

"I would like to purchase this." He said, receiving a snicker from Sprx.

"Here you go dearies, twenty two pounds of Glorx sludge for each of you." An old but sweet voice said.

Antauri and Sprx turned to a tent near them, with two aliens purchasing a bag of purple fluid. The aliens had light pink almost fluid like skin with hair that seemed to be apart of their skin, given their color.

"Thank you very much ma'am, we will definitely use this for the first few Tabithian infants born." One alien said.

"Oh it's no problem at all! You said the sludge wouldn't be here until a few weeks, it's the least I could do for the little things." An older mouse looking alien said.

"Tabithian? Tabithians are here?" Sprx whispered as the others came over.

"Who are the Tabithians?" Willow asked.

Antauri looked back up at her.

"The Tabithians are a race of aliens that use surrogates to repopulate,"

Willow looked at the two aliens, still talking to the merchant

"They used to repopulate by their own means, both genders being able to get pregnant, until one day they became sterile somehow. In a panic they started to find non human-surrogates in order to keep their species alive. Sometimes using force." Antauri said, closing his eyes at the last sentence.

The team looked at him worriedly.

"Th-then what are they doing here?! Finding potential surrogates?!" Nova questioned angrily.

Antauri looked at the Tabithian's uniforms closely.

"I don't think so, by their uniforms I'm guessing they're part of the volunteering program. Where surrogates volunteer to carry Tabithian children."

The team sighed in relief at that. Willow then looked at Chiro worriedly.

"Shouldn't you guys be trying to stop Tabithians that force people to get pregnant? I mean this sounds like something you'd get involved in." She said.

"From what I've heard in the galactic news, there's a growing political uprising against the technique of forcing people. Besides even if we do get involved, it would take a long time for the leaders of Tabithia to change their minds because of us." Chiro sighed.

Willow nodded a bit. The two Tabithians soon left the merchant and went away, chatting amongst themselves. Willow watched them, still sort of cautious. They didn't seem mean but Willow wasn't too sure. They walked over to the merchant's table. The mouse alien looked up and smiled.

"Oh! The Hyperforce! What can I do for you today dearies?" She asked.

Chiro glanced at where the Tabithians left.

"Um yes, we were curious why the Tabithians were purchasing um…"

"Glorx sludge? They're basically baby formula for newborn Tabithians." The mouse alien briefly said.

Chiro nodded as Antauri stepped forward.

"Is it possible they're here looking for volunteers?" He asked.

The mouse alien snickered a bit.

"Curious today aren't we? Well they're actually setting up a few volunteer villages and hospitals around here. They said this planet has the right conditions for it." She explained.

The team turned to each other a bit, well that answers one question. The mouse alien then sighed.

"However, since they're staring out things are going to be a bit rough for the next few months. So I think that's why they're looking at this planet. Just until they can get more resources." She said.

Then the merchant next to her table peeked his head out.

"But! It's good for business!" He pointed out.

The mouse alien nodded.

"It is but it's still going to be hard for them." She said.

Chiro nodded a bit. That was all he needed to know.

"So! Is there anything else I can do for you?"

* * *

The team began to look around a bit more, carrying their purchased items with them. Willow looked over at a tent with several books. She turned to the others.

"Hey guys I'm gonna look over here." She said before going over to the tent.

Antauri nodded as the team looked over a bunch of swords, they looked very varied. Suddenly Antauri tensed up as he felt a very familiar and unwelcomed presence near them.

"Are you sure this would be alright?" A gruff voice asked.

"Of course! Tilamat said this is what you needed for now." Another voice said.

The team tensed up and looked to where the source of the voice was. There near them was an enormous monster like being. He had large bulging muscles, barely any purple armor, spikes along his back, and when he turned a bit they could see a monkey head way too small for his body. He also had huge ginger eyebrows, mustache,long ponytail, and beard. Nova dropped her bags as the team was frozen.

"Bu-but!?" Jinmay gasped.

"How is that possible?! We just saw Mandarin-!" Sprx began.

"Why is he back to looking like-?" Antauri began until his eyes widened.

"Wait...that Mandarin we've been fighting in the war...was that a clone?" He pondered aloud.

The team looked at each other before pondering about this too. The last time they saw Mandarin looking like this, it was when he failed to clone Chiro. Then the next time they fought Mandarin was when he was all shrunk down and in bone armor. So the idea of that Mandarin being a clone and this being the original was very plausible. Otto peeked behind Chiro, watching him. He was purchasing something and didn't seemed to be harming anyone. The overly muscled monkey turned and began to walk away, minding his own business. Chiro turned to the others.

"Let's go after him, he may still be planning something." He said softly, having almost everyone nod in response.

Otto looked at Mandarin as he went over to another tent.

"I dunno guys I mean..something's different about him." Otto muttered.

Antauri nodded, but it still wouldn't hurt to follow him just in case.

Willow walked back over to them, glancing at where Mandarin went.

"Hey guys, why were you looking at that big guy all intensely?" She asked.

The team was silent before Antauri turned to her.

"Willow it may be best if you went back to the robot for a while." He advised.

"Wha-why?" She asked.

Antauri watched as Mandarin purchased a huge water bottle. If their suspicions of Mandarin causing trouble are true, then Willow would be in trouble.

"Because this is someone who we once fought with and...he might hurt you if our suspicions are correct." He said.

Willow flinched and looked over at him. She could fight him, but he did look pretty menacing. And gross.

"I...I guess I could, just let me know if anything goes south." She said before looking over her shoulder and and going back to the robot.

Antauri turned on his communicator.

"Gibson are you about done mining? Good because we might need your help with something."

* * *

*Points at Mandarin loudly* There he is! My precious babe! Yes he's in this fic and ooh boy do I have plans for him!

I hope you enjoyed and see you in Chapter 4.


	4. Chapter 4

You know what I also haven't seen in a lot of srmthfg fics? More steroid Mandarin fics, or at least where he stays all big and buff throughout the whole thing. I mean yeah it ain't everyone's cup of tea but still. The jokes and fun man.

* * *

Mandarin was leaving the village and was on his way to Veran knows where. He looked down at the items he bought and sighed a bit, yet another long and uneventful day. Not that he minded, in fact he enjoyed the peace. It's just he wished Tilamat would hurry up and get back and get back to him on how long it would be for him to pick him up.

The team made sure that he wouldn't notice them, despite how huge he was. Chiro shivered, he forgot how disturbing he looked. He then stopped and looked back, causing the team to hide behind a few empty buildings. He blinked before frowning in suspicion before continuing to walk and turn a corner. The team then went over to the corner to find an empty alleyway that lead onto another street. The team grew confused until a huge shadow covered them.

"Y-you!" Mandarin exclaimed.

The team quickly turned to him, weapons out. Mandarin was shocked before he glared harshly at them, all of the old feelings of anger, hatred, and betrayal running back through him. Just seeing Chiro made his blood boil.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded.

Nova snarled. "What are we doing here?! What are **you** doing here?!" She growled.

Antauri narrowed his eyes at Mandarin, sensing something off with his aura.

"Minding my own business, why? I'm not planning anything if that's the reason why you're stalking me." Mandarin huffed.

Gibson narrowed his eyes.

"Are you sure? Because the last time you said something like that, you ended up betraying us." He said.

Mandarin snarled, about ready to fight them, his old feelings of anger and hate still prevalent. After what they did, there was no way he could forgive them. He popped out his energy tail as the others were ready to square off with him.

"Now again we ask, what are you planning?" Chiro asked.

"I'm not planning anything! If anything I'm trying to get as far away from you as possible, and I will not hesitate to fight you if you don't leave me be." Mandarin growled.

"What, so you can take over another innocent planet?" Jinmay huffed.

"Like I even have the desire to do such things anymore! Maybe I'm no longer evil, did you ever think of that?!" Mandarin snapped.

"Stop lying!" Nova yelled, cracking her knuckles.

Antauri realized where this was leading and got in between them before they attacked.

"Monkey team wait I think he's right! I don't think he is the same as before." He argued.

The monkey team dropped their weapons down a bit, confused.

"What...what are you talking about?" Nova asked.

Antauri turned to Mandarin and stared at him intensly, making the orange monkey very uncomfortable and confused. Who was this? Where was Antauri? By the voice alone he guessed it was him but Antauri's new appearance was rather odd to him.

"Why do you look different?" He asked.

Antauri didn't drop his stare as Chiro cleared his throat.

"It's a uh...rather long story."

Mandarin blinked, unsure if that was supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing. Antauri then floated up to him, staring right into his eyes. Mandarin backed up a bit, feeling even more uncomfortable.

"Antauri you know how I need to have my boundaries respected!" He huffed.

"Just...just give me…"

Antauri then blinked then went silent. This silence went on for nearly a minute before Antauri's eyes softened.

"How?" He questioned, his voice full of emotion.

Mandarin crossed his arms.

"Oh so you noticed, I mean isn't the color of my pupils a clear indicator?" He huffed.

"Now that you mention it they are much lighter." Antauri agreed.

Sprx shook his head, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Wait! Wait! What's going on Antauri?" He asked as Otto lightly gasped.

"Is he...is he on our side again?" Otto asked softly.

Antauri turned to the hopeful Otto and smiled a bit.

"From what I can sense, the corruption in his soul has been cleansed. So yes." He said, receiving a mix of reactions.

Otto looked up at Mandarin and went over to hug him, but Mandarin backed up a bit. Mandarin frowned a bit, causing Otto to drop his arms.

"O-oh I'm sorry I forgot-" Otto began, looking sad.

Nova sighed.

"Don't even try Otto, he's still a massive jerk. Evil or not. " She said, not forgiving him for the training room incident.

Otto turned to her.

"He wasn't always a jerk at times Nova, remember? There were times where he was a huge sweetie." He said.

"Lies!" Mandarin hissed, face flushed.

Nova crossed her arms and averted her gaze, anger bubbling in her chest. Chiro frowned a bit.

"Wait, how is this possible?" He asked Mandarin.

Mandarin paused, gathering his thoughts. He then sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to escape for the moment.

"Well a couple of years ago while I was in prison, I was attempting to escape when I felt terribly sick, almost as if someone force fed me acid." He began, Otto sitting down.

"After a while I had one of the worst cold sweats I've ever felt. I haven't felt that awful ever since I've turned into...well this." Mandarin motioned his body.

Sprx's snout wrinkled.

"Yeah I bet." He said with discuss, causing Otto to frown at him.

"Hey." He huffed, not wanting him to be rude.

Mandarin sighed.

"Anyway, I thought I was going to die that day. Instead what I can only describe as some sort of dark energy vomiting out of my pores and escaping away from me. I'm not sure where it went but after that, all of the dark thoughts and ambitions I had before just..vanished." He explained, causing Gibson to raise an eyebrow.

"Vomiting?" He questioned.

"That's what it felt like."

Antauri thought on it, it sounded plausible but the explanation on it was a little fuzzy to him. Then he lifted his head.

"Wait, did you feel something off with the Power Primate around that time?" He asked Mandarin.

Mandarin's eyes widened.

"Yes! The day before actually."

Chiro's mouth dropped a bit.

"So wait! Does that mean that Skeleton King used his corrupted Power Primate to help bring the Dark One Worm?" He questioned, causing Mandarin to flinch.

Antauri closed his eyes.

"It sounds like that's the most likely scenario."

Mandarin raised an eyebrow.

"Should-should I ask about-?" He began before Sprx held up a hand.

"Don't worry we took care of that, anyway um….it's good to have you back and whatever." He grumbled, scratching the back of his head.

Mandarin frowned and looked around, making sure no one was actually making fun of him.

"Who are you and what have you done with Sprx?" He questioned.

Sprx snickered as Nova stared at the floor, unsure of how to feel. Jinmay nervously tilted her head.

"So what do we do now?" She asked.

Chiro looked up at Mandarin and crossed his arms.

"Well I'm not so sure if he's completely uncorrupted or not.," Otto quickly got up, ready to defend him.

"Chiro please don't-!" He began as Mandarin got ready to fight him just in case.

"So I think it's best if he stays at the robot with us." Chiro decided.

There was a collective outcry of "What?!"

"No, not happening!" Nova exclaimed.

"For once I agree with you! Hairless monkey, if you really think I'm going to go along with an ludicrous idea, you really are clueless!" Mandarin snapped.

Chiro pointed a finger at him and glared.

"Hey it's better than you being here! There would probably be many other aliens that come to this planet and if they've heard of you, they'd try to get you arrested or worse. Besides there are Tabithian forces setting up volunteer villages here, and I bet you don't want to get involved with that, right?" Chiro huffed.

Gibson noticed Mandarin twitch slightly, his eyes looking away for a split second.

"No…"

Otto smiled.

"I think it's a good idea too, besides we get to have you around again! You missed out on so many things." Otto chirped.

Sprx nodded slightly, as much as he disliked him it was kind of good to actually have him back. Kind of. Jinmay scratched her chin a bit, the only terrible thing this Mandarin did to her was decapitation. Other then that she didn't really have much of an opinion on him, just hated his clone more. So really she didn't have that much of a problem with it either. Nova looked down, she didn't know about this. She still really hated him but...if he's good again….

"You step out of line-!" She threatened.

Mandarin growled.

"I'm telling you I refuse to come back!" He said angrily.

Antauri sighed.

"Mandarin please. It is in everyone's best interest if you came back to Shuggazoom, like Chiro said there are many other lifeforms that have heard of us and you. If they find you here, you won't be safe." He said.

Otto's lip trembled.

"Besides we...we miss you."

Mandarin felt like he was in a fever dream of some sort. This was not happening, he was finally beginning to move on and continue that promise he made. But no, now he was entangled in all of this mess.

"Willow, land the robot at our location. We have another passenger coming with us." Antauri said, using his communicator.

Mandarin backed up, about to escape when he suddenly realized something. They were right...aliens could come for him. However, that doesn't mean that when he gets to Shuggazoom he couldn't just have Tilamat pick him up. He will escape from this, he will fulfill that promise.

"Don't think I'm rejoining or anything, because that will never happen." Mandarin snarled, venom dripping from his words.

Chiro closed his eyes, this guy can't stop being an asshole can't he?

"Who said you would?" He huffed, Otto's shoulders slumping slightly.

Otto knew he probably won't ever rejoin them but he does want that. He wants his best friend back so badly. Mandarin snarled as the robot landed, Willow stepped out as Mandarin turned to her. The two stared at each other as some of the members went inside. Mandarin blinked at what he could only refer to as 'Hot Topic offending woman' and Willow blinked at what she considered 'Monkey Hulk on steroids'.

"Who is that?!" They both ask.

* * *

Mandarin huffed lightly as he sat in the command center. Everyone eyed him nervously, unsure of what to do. Sure he was on their side technically, however they were still unsure if they should trust him.  
Willow looked at him before looking at Chiro.

"So this is the guy you've been fighting all those years ago? He looks kinda..." She looks back at the hugely muscled primate.

"...gross." She whispered.

Mandarin looked and glared at her slightly. Chiro nodded.

"Yep that's him. We thought the skeletal version of him was the real him but Antauri said that one might be a clone." He explained to her.

Willow nodded, understanding.

Mandarin crossed his arms.

"I can see the boys girlfriend joining this team but you? You I don't recognize." He said, looking right at Willow.

Willow glared. This guy's attitude was really starting to bug her.

"That's because I'm new, buddy!" She snapped.

"I can see that now, but-" Mandarin was about to say something when Nova interrupted him.

"We found her in Mandarin 2's lair a few weeks ago. She said he wanted her for her powers but we got her out before anything happened."

What plans did his faker clone have for a super powered human? Knowing him, probably not good. However Mandarin didn't bother with that as he glanced at Willow.

"And her powers are?" He asked.

Willow looked down a bit.

"She won't tell us, we know she has fire powers but-ow!' Willow smacked Sprx in the back of the head.

"What was that for?!" He asked.

"Don't tell him that! It's none of his business." She huffed.

Mandarin blinked, Alrighty then.

"Sprx she will reveal her past to us in due time. Right now we need to be concerned about what we should do with Mandarin." Antauri said.

"Leaving me back on that planet would be nice." Mandarin grumbled.

Gibson sighed.

"We cannot. That planet is targeted by Tabithian forces and I'm sure you do not want to end up carrying a alien child. Unless..." His face twisted in suspicion. "...you do happen to be pregnant."

Mandarin frowned and motioned towards his stomach.

"Do I look pregnant to you?" He huffed.

"Well I dunno I mean your abs are starting to-" Sprx was about to finish but he flinched at Mandarin's icy stare.

"That was rhetorical Sprx-77." He growled.

Sprx backed up a bit.

"Wait, pregnant? But he's a guy." Willow said, confused.

"True but Tabithians genetic code and advanced technology can impregnate any gender." Gibson said.

Willow shivered, that sounds way too freaky to her.

"Anyway it's best if you came back to Shuggazoom with us. It wouldn't be safe on that planet anyway." Antauri said.

Mandarin glared

"Then drop me off at Korlan 3! I would be fine there." He huffed.

"No, you need to come back with us. We still aren't ready to trust you to be on your own yet. We still don't know if you're completely uncorrupted or not anyway." Chiro said.

This was ridiculous! They knew he was uncorrupted so why force him to stay?! Mandarin snarled and got up.

"So what am I your prisoner? Your hostage?!" He growled, going over to him.

"Mandarin no."

He ignored Nova as he held Chiro by the scruff of his neck. Everyone took out their weapons.

"Now you listen here, you can take me back to Shuggazoom if you must. However don't think I'm staying for long. Because I will find my robot and I will leave." He said, venom dripping from every word.

He then dropped Chiro to the floor and left the room, using one of the large transportation tubes for when they need to transfer large objects.

Willow helped him up and looked after him.

"What the hell is his problem?" She growled.

Nova sighed.

"He's always been a jerk Willow." She sighed.

"But he wasn't this bad! Not back then at least." Sprx said.

Otto looked after him, his heart aching.

"Well I'm going to give him a piece of my mind! That guy's gotta learn some manners if he's going to stay here." Willow huffed, stomping off.

"Willow wait!"

However she was already gone.

* * *

Willow looked around for Mandarin, which isn't hard since he's like ten feet tall.

She then noticed him off to the side, muttering something.

"What do you mean you can't get me out of here?!" He asked.

Willow looked around and gulped before turning invisible and listening in.

"Look the Hyperforce is a much better place for you then Elux is. They'll have more food, resources, and just a better place for you right now. I can even send the other stuff over much easier!" A voice said over Mandarin's communicator.

Mandarin's eyes widened in panic.

"No no no no please do not send any of that to Shuggazoom! They already asked me about my condition I don't need to have their theories...confirmed." He whispered.

Willow frowned and edged closer. Condition? Theories?

The voice sighed.

"Look both of the families entrusted you with this. It's what their deceased children would have wanted. Besides, you can't keep this a secret forever. You're going to have to tell them." He said.

Mandarin groaned and rested his back against the wall.

"Look if you want, if you're still hell bent on getting out of there by my next patient has her baby, I'll try to come and get you." The mysterious voice said.

"And when is that?" Mandarin asked.

"Umm...five more months?"

Mandarin groaned louder.

"I know! I know, but there's not much I can do about it. Think of it like this, you get to bond with your old friends again!"

Mandarin frowned.

"Okay maybe not, I'll call you next week just to give you more information." The voice said.

Mandarin was silent before he muttered, "Thank you."

Willow walked a bit closer, just what was he talking about? Wait was Gibson asked relevant? Was this Mandarin guy really-?

She tripped on a slightly bent tile on the floor and fell face first onto the floor, her invisibility powers disappearing. Mandarin quickly looked over to her and glared. Willow stumbled up.

He looked at his communicator.

"I'll call you later."

"Okay."

He turned off the communicator and turned to Willow.

"N-now you wait!" Willow stuttered, backing up a bit.

"Just what did you hear, brat?" Mandarin asked.

Willow could already see her grave now. She backed up a bit more.

"Not much, ya know just you wanting to leave and s-something about deceased parents." Willow gulped.

Mandarin stepped forward.

"Look I wanted to talk to you about how you acted back there and I overheard you talking to someone." She explained.

Mandarin raised a eyebrow.

"You mean spying." He said bluntly.

Willow gulped.

"Okay maybe but you...I mean..."

Mandarin stared at her a bit more.

"Just...what's going on? I'm sure the monkey team can help." Willow said.

Mandarin glared, his eyes like icy daggers.

"It's none of your business quite frankly-" he began but then he remembered.

"You can't keep it a secret forever..."

Mandarin sighed.

"Never mind." He finally said.

Willow frowned a bit.

"I'll...explain what you heard to the others...when I'm ready to. Right now just isn't a good time." He admitted before walking away.

Willow composed herself and yelled after him, "Wait!"

Mandarin paused and looked back.

"Whatever's going on it's...it's serious isn't it?" Willow asked.

Mandarin was silent for a second before saying , "Depends on who thinks its more serious."

Then he walked off to a lower part of the robot, wanting to be alone for a while.

Willow placed a hand on her hip and frowned.

* * *

Oh yeah..this is where the mpreg warning starts to come into play ummm...I'll explain that in the next chapter but for now uhhh thanks for reading.


	5. Chapter 5

Ok so uh the mpreg...yeah this is the part where it comes into play. So long story short, I had a really weird dream with a cool storyline that invovled aliens and a pregnant Mandarin. I tried to keep it as far away from me as possible but...this storyline with impregnating aliens just got to me and mutated into it's own thing. And a pregnant Mandarin is actually really funny. So this is the last chapter for a while until next week or so as I have school and work. So uh enjoy?

* * *

They left Eluxis soon after and after a few days, Mandarin wanted to get off the robot as quickly as he entered it. He hated it, he hated being around the others, he hated waking up in the robot every day, and he hated that annoying little hairless monkey. However, he really began to detest that Willow chick. Her attitude just rubbed him the wrong way and he avoided everyone like the plague. Mandarin didn't really hate Otto...infact he never really did that much, but he still avoided him anyway. For now the team was letting him stay in the storage rooms that the robot had. They had to buy a massive mattress for Mandarin to sleep on and Otto gave up some of his pillows for him. That and keeping his pregnancy a secret became very difficult very quickly.

"Mandarin? Are you feeling alright? You've been throwin up for the past three days." Otto said worriedly as Mandarin stepped out of the bathroom.

Mandarin huffed as he wiped the remainder of his breakfast off of the corner of his mouth.

"It's a virus Otto. It'll go away." He lied.

There was no way he's telling them about this. If he told them he was pregnant they'd want him to stay with them even more. That and the amount of jokes Sprx would make would be rage inducing.

Otto frowned a bit before patting his leg.

"Get better soon then, ok?" He said sweetly before walking off.

Mandarin sighed and began to walk back to his storage room when he bumped into Willow. Willow frowned.

"Careful." She sighed.

Mandarin huffed.

"You saw me, you could have walked around me."

Willow glared at him. Was this jerk for real?! She just turned a corner and happened to bump into him!

"Excuse me for not happening to see gigantor this time. I'll look for your bra straps next time." Willow snapped, really not in the mood.

Mandarin glared.

"And I'll look for your white foundation and gothic attire." He huffed.

Okay he really doesn't mind the gothic clothing, in fact he finds the style rather interesting, but if this little bitch was going to insult him he will snap back. Antauri and Jinmay noticed the argument and were ready to intervene.

"Asshole, I don't even wear that pasty stuff!" Willow yelled.

"Really? Could have fooled me from how pale you are."

Willow growled, her aura a piercing red. Antauri and Jinmay quickly went over to the two.

"Alright break it up you two!" Jinmay huffed, getting in between them.

Mandarin and Willow looked at her before looking away. Antauri looked towards Mandarin.

"I get that you don't want to be here, but don't take it out on others." He said.

Mandarin's eyes widened, they're defending her?! Okay, he was acting like a jerk he'll admit it. However she was acting just as bad!

"She was just as at fault-!" He began but stopped as he felt his stomach twist and he quickly placed a hand over his mouth.

Willow noticed his face starting to turn slightly green.

"U-uh are you okay?" She asked before Mandarin turned as Chiro went inside the bathroom.

Mandarin quickly opened the door and darted inside.

"I just got in!" Chiro yelled before he was pushed out.

The four cringed as they heard loud coughing and other unpleasant noises. Willow felt herself getting a bit sick as well.

"How long has he been sick?" Jinmay asked.

"Three days, it doesn't look like he's getting better and he's refusing to let Gibson check on him." Antauri said.

"Of course." Chiro sighed.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Jinmay asked him.

"It looks like a normal stomach virus to me." Willow muttered, suspecting otherwise.

Antauri looked up at Willow then at the bathroom.

"If that's the case then he should be resting. Exerting himself and arguing with other members is something he shouldn't be doing at this moment." He advised as they heard a flush.

Mandarin stumbled out, wiping his mouth.

"This is ridiculous." He huffed before turning to the others.

"As I was saying!" He began when Willow held up a hand.

"Just forget about it, you need your rest." Willow huffed.

Mandarin blinked and frowned. Just like that? Oh well, he does feel like complete crap. Might as well get some rest. He sighed and went past them, feeling tired. Willow watched as he went, she could have brought up the possibility that he may be pregnant. She could have brought up the conversation she overheard too but she kept both of those quiet.

She couldn't understand why.

* * *

It was a long trip back to Shuggazoom and everyone tried to get used to Mandarin being around but it was a little bit weird. Willow didn't tell anyone of what she overheard from the conversation with Mandarin and the mysterious person yet, she wasn't sure why. Maybe it was to respect Mandarin's privacy? Heh! As if she respected a guy like him at all! He was such a moody, anti social brute so he really got on her nerves. That and he threw up a lot too, which got kinda gross.

Still she didn't say anything.

Willow was sitting in her room, writing in her journal when Antauri came in.

"Willow? May I speak with you?" He asked.

All sorts of weird feelings bubbled up inside her as she sat up. Why is she feeling like this? Why towards Antauri of all people?

"Sure." She said as Antauri sat on her bed.

"I think it's time we know about you and your powers." He said.

Willow blinked and looked down.

"I don't know..."

"Willow you've been with us for over two weeks now, we hardly know anything about you. And if Mandarin 2 is after you we need to know why." Antauri said before touching her hand.

Willow tried to hide her blush at his touch.

"Please we want to help you."

Willow looked down.

"You'll...you'll call me a freak."

"Willow we would never-!"

Willow got up, tears running down her face.

"Antauri! Back home everyone called me a freak! Everyone! Do you know how many friends I lost?! How many times I ran home crying from school?! How many times that I felt like I was a mistake?!" She sobbed.  
Antauri looked up at her, feeling terrible for her. Willow dropped to the floor, crying.

"Willow please listen to me."

Willow looked at him, tears falling down her face.

Antauri went over to her and wiped her face.

"We are not like those people on your home planet, we all care about you very deeply. Also I'm sure as soon as Mandarin warms up to us, he will too." He said with a warm smile on his face.

Willow sniggered and looked away.

"Sure he will, that's why he avoids me at every turn." She sighed.

Antauri shook his head.

"He's been doing that to us too, don't worry." He said.

Willow looked back at him and smiled.

"Thank you Antauri." She said softly.

Antauri nodded.

"Well?"

Willow sighed.

"I guess I can talk about it." She said, smiling a bit.

Antauri smiled.

"Great, now why don't we have dinner. Perhaps you can talk about it then." He said.

Willow exhaled, this wasn't gonna be easy.

"Sure thing." She said getting up and the two left the room.

They then came across Nova trying to get Mandarin into the dining room, but he didn't budge.

"Just eat with us for one night! It's not gonna kill you!" She growled, trying to push him in.

"No." Mandarin simply said, arms crossed.

Willow and Antauri looked at each other.

"What's going on Nova? Mandarin being anti social again?" Willow asked.

Mandarin eyed her before Nova exclaimed, "Yes! Help me!"

Antauri sighed.

"Mandarin please enter the dining room." He said.

"No."

"Dude it's just one night." Willow huffed.

"Don't care, I'm fine with eating by myself." Mandarin stated.

"Ergh if only Amanda and Trent were here." Willow muttered.

Antauri looked at her before she put a hand up.

"I'll explain about them too." She sighed.

"Get! In!" Nova groaned before dropping to the floor.

"It was a nice effort Nova but I'm not going in there." Mandarin huffed.

Sprx stepped out, a bag in hand.

"Oh you will once I bring these out!" He snickered, opening the bag.

Which revealed to be just ordinary pastries. Willow snickered.

"Come on, he won't get in by those." She laughed.

"Hrrk!" Mandarin covered his mouth, his face turning slightly green.

"Yeah that's right! I remember how sensitive your stomach is! Now get in." Sprx said before waving the bag around.

"I'd rather throw up on your floor." He said before collapsing to the floor.

Willow's eyes widened. Mandarin gets sick at sweets? He really is rotten to the core.

"Then you'll get to clean it!" Sprx said with a smile, but it dropped quickly when Mandarin glared at him.

"I'll make you my mop." He growled before covering his mouth again.

Sprx edged closer and Mandarin edged back.

"Get in, get in and I'll get rid of this!" He said.

Mandarin almost hissed at him but let out a low growl before edging a bit more.

"It's just one night." Willow said.

Mandarin looked at her before glaring at everyone else.

"I hate...all of you." He growled before edging into the dining area.

Sprx put the sweets back in the bag and smirked before walking in.

As everyone, except Mandarin who was against the wall with a trashcan in front of him, gathered around the table and began to eat.

"You alright over there?" Otto asked Mandarin.

Mandarin hurled into the trash can before glaring at him.

"Okay." Otto turned back to everyone else, who was trying to ignore the vomiting noises.

"So...Willow? Do you have something you'd like to talk about?" Antauri asked.

Willow looked at him, worriedly.

"What right now?" She asked.

Antauri nodded.

Willow sighed and set her fork down.

"Okay...well I guess we can start with one of those question and answer thingies." She sighed.

"Sounds a lot more fun to me then just going on and on." Sprx said before Nova elbowed him.

Willow snickered at this then sighed.

"Okay who wants to go first?" She asked.

Otto raised his hand, following by Nova and then by everyone else.

"What kind of powers do you have?" That was Otto's question.

"Where did you come from?" Chiro's question.

"Why do you have that necklace?" Gibson's.

"Can you please give me crackers and water? I feel like death." Mandarin's.

Willow sighed. Whoo boy this is gonna be fun.

"Well Otto, I got fire powers, I can turn invisible, I can shape shift, I can do all this magic stuffs-"

"Jeez that's a lot!" Sprx breathed.

Willow glared at him.

"And I can..." Her voice trailed off.

Everyone, minus Mandarin, leaned forward.

"You can?"

Willow looked around before she sighed.

"I can read minds and dreams OK?!" She shouted.

Everyone looked at each other, shocked. Mandarin quickly sat up a bit more, his heart racing. If she can read minds then... What did she hear?!

"I didn't read any of yours on purpose if that's what you're wondering." Willow said, causing everyone to sigh loudly.

"N-not on purpose?" Jinmay asked.

Willow shook her head.

"No, I mean I hear things every now and then but really not on purpose." She truthfully stated.

Mandarin sighed a bit, hoping she didn't hear anything super secretive.

"But really that's all the powers that I really have." Willow shrugged.

"Now Chiro..." She bit her lip, this was going to be really hard.

"I...I was born on Natulis 18. I have my mom and my dad and my sister Amanda. I was really close with my dad but then...but then he..." Willow choked on her last word as she held back a sob.

"Willow..." Jinmay tried to reach for her but Willow shook her head.

"No I have to keep going, anyway he died from a mugging when I was six and it was after that I discovered my powers. When I did everyone at my school saw me different, and a lot of them ended up hating me to the point of bullying me. I don't understand why, I mean nothing about me really changed but..." Willow sighed, wiping her tears.

"Never mind I mean, my mom my sister, and my only friend Trent still love me...hopefully they're doing OK without me home..."

Antauri held her hand, causing Willow to blush again.

"I'm sure they are, and I'm sure they miss you." He said, causing her to smile.

Mandarin felt sick again and threw up. Everyone grimaced

"Sorry, my stomachs acting up because someone decided to pressure me in with disgusting sweets." He glared at Sprx.

Willow sighed and looked at her necklace.

"Anyway this necklace was given to me by my dad. He said it was special but he never told me why." She said.

"Maybe it's special because of all the love he had in it?" Nova suggested.

Willow raised an eyebrow.

"Probably, but I think he was talking about special powers or something."

Nova shrugged.

"Works too."

"Is there anything else you want to talk about?" Chiro asked.

Willow looked at Mandarin before shaking her head.

"Not now anyway. Now hang on." She then went over to the cupboards and looked through them.

Mandarin was resting his head against the wall when a plate of crackers and a glass of water were in front of him.

"You said you wanted crackers and water." Willow huffed.

"Mm." Mandarin took the plate and glass and began to nibble on them.

Willow began to walk back to her seat, but not before she heard a small,

"Thank you."

She rolled her eyes and sat back down.

After dinner, Mandarin immediately fell onto the bed in the storage room he was residing at and held another trash can close to him just in case. He closed his eyes and was about to drift off to sleep when a very worrying thought crossed his mind.

He sat up and put a hand on his stomach. He frowned as he felt something off, almost like his stomach was slightly distended. He tore the covers off and looked. Shit! He was already starting to show! Mandarin shook slightly, has anyone noticed? If they did, are they going to say anything? Sweet mother of Shuggazoom he hoped not!

Then again, they were wrapped up with all of this Willow nonsense. So maybe they won't notice and if they do they probably won't say anything. He hoped they won't.

Mandarin laid back down and clung to the trash can again.

 _"You can't keep it a secret forever."_

No, no he can't.

 _"How am I going to explain to them this? How? Like, 'Hey guess what Gibson? You were right all along! I really am pregnant'! Yes that will go over amazingly."_ Mandarin thought, anxiety flowing through his nerves.

He covered his face with a pillow and groaned. This was going to be fun, especially explaining when the other stuff arrives too. However, this was also crystal clear proof that his child was growing. He laid a hand on his stomach, feeling something he'd never really felt before. It was warm and tender, almost like maternal affection for the small being that he was carrying. This was all slightly overwhelming for him as he rested back against the bed, his hand still on his abdomen.

He's going to tell them, but when?

* * *

Okay so yay backstory on Willow! And yay impending anxiety of revealing a pregnancy! Yeah so I hope to post again next week...I'm actually kind of curious to see the reviews on this...especially on the Mandpreg...yes I made a term for it. Thanks for reading.


	6. Chapter 6

Okay so remember when I said I'd update next week? Yeah I can't keep to my schedule so here's the next one!

I don't own srmthfg and all that stuffs bro

* * *

Mandarin woke up the next morning, feeling actually a bit better than the past few weeks. He didn't really feel like throwing up everywhere and he felt better emotionally too. Despite the impending day where Mandarin would have to explain everything in the back of his head.

Mandarin went out to grab some breakfast and hopefully make it back before anyone notices but then he paused and placed a hand over his mouth. He rushed to the nearest bathroom and hurled. So much for feeling better. He left the bathroom after a few minutes, wiping his mouth with a cloth. He then looked around the room, he was so adamant on finding a toilet he ran to the quickest room he could find.

It was a very dark purple and black colored room and had various glow in the dark moons and stars all around it. There was also a large bookshelf and a bed right next to it. Where was he?

"Hey thanks for throwing up in my bathroom, I really love the smell of vomit." Willow huffed, still in her black nightgown.

Mandarin looked towards the girl and jumped a bit.

"O-oh I didn't realize you already had a room." He said.

Willow smiled.

"Yeah, I had to sleep in Antauri's room for a while before it got done." She explained before blushing hard.

"Not that we did anything!" She squeaked.

Mandarin raised a eyebrow.

"I didn't even say anything." He said.

Willow blushed harder, grumbling to herself.

Mandarin rolled his eyes and began to leave.

"Wait!"

Mandarin looked back at her, a look of concern on her face.

"So uh, I'm sure the others are thinking the same thing but are you feeling ok? I mean you've been sick the past two weeks." Willow inquired.

Mandarin blinked, he wasn't sure of how to approach this. He could be totally honest and reveal everything to who he considers a stranger. He could also lie and delay the inevitable even more.

"Most people have a stomach virus up to ten days." He brought up.

Why was he lying?! He really needs to stop that, and quickly.

Willow raised an eyebrow, he was hiding something.

"Are you sure? Because I think it's more then that." She said, remembering their conversation a week ago and she began to notice little things about his behavior, mostly at the fact that his belly was starting to get a bit...round.

Mandarin's stomach churned, remembering that conversation too.

"Well..."

Willow walked up to him a bit, suddenly overwhelmed by his size.

"Listen that guy that you were talking to, who is he? Is he like some sort of child service person or something? Since he mentioned deceased parents?" Willow questioned.

"What does this have to do with me being sick?" Mandarin asked back.

"I don't know! Just answer the question." She huffed.

Mandarin eyed the side of the room.

"Not really no." He answered.

Willow tilted her head.

"Then who is he?" She asked.

Mandarin bit his lip a bit and looked away a bit, hesitant to answer.

Willow closed her blood red eyes and sighed.

"Look I'm not gonna tell anyone." She said, causing Mandarin to look back at her.

"Seriously?"

She nodded and crossed her arms.

"I mean, you're an asshole, you're antisocial, you really treat the Hyperforce like crap, and-"

"You know this chocolate covered friendship speech really is failing on your part." Mandarin huffed.

Willow glared at him.

"Let me finish. However I understand what you're hiding is stressing you out. So whatever's going on, why this is happening," She motioned to his stomach.

"I want to help, I mean that's what the Hyperforce would do. And I get if you don't want to tell everyone yet."Willow said,sincerely.

Mandarin eyed the floor.

"I doubt you can help, but I appreciate the offer." He mumbled, causing Willow to smirk.

Willow stretched a bit and walked over to her bed.

"I would let you sit on my bed but you'd probably crush it." She joked.

Mandarin held back a snicker.

"That's true."

Willow crossed her legs and leaned forward a bit.

"So I mean I'm starting to get a idea on what's wrong, I mean the vomit, the moodiness, the...well you know."

Mandarin turned to her.

"You do now?" He questioned.

Willow nodded then she shivered at what she would say next.

"Gibson said something about Tabithians or whatever impregnating any gender they want. So fro-from what I've seen...i-is that happening to you?" She asked, disturbed.

Mandarin paused before slowly nodding, causing Willow to lay on her side.

"Oh my god. A pregnant dude." She wheezed.

Mandarin frowned.

"Yes and it's quite nice and dandy for me too." He grumbled.

Willow quickly sat up.

"I didn't mean- ugh you know what I mean." She sighed.

"So uh how did this come about?" She asked.

"Simple, I volunteered and they injected me with the dna of two Tabithians and it created an artificial womb." Mandarin explained.

Willow blinked.

"That...still doesn't make a lick of sense but whatever." She pointed out then she paused.

"Why did you volunteer? I mean wouldn't you want to, I don't know, fight people or live in some abandoned house?" Willow asked.

Mandarin was slightly confused at what Willow thinks he would rather do but he ignored that.

"I have my reasons, reasons I don't want to get into right now." He said.

"Why not now?" She asked but then stopped herself.

Mandarin's muscles tensed.

"I just really do not feel like talking about it."

Willow nodded, feeling a tad guilty she brought it up. It must be something serious.

"So...how far along?" She asked, her sitting position changed to her laying on her stomach and holding her head with her hands.

"Four months."

Willow nodded, getting invested.

"Oh so you're halfway done then."

Mandarin pursed his lips and smirked, causing Willow to blink in confusion.

"Wait so it's not?" She questioned.

Mandarin was silent before saying, "It's over eleven months total."

Willow fell off her bed and stumbled up in shock.

"Jeez that's a long time!" She exclaimed.

Mandarin snickered loudly.

"I mean being pregnant for almost a whole year! God, mothers would be screaming if they had to be pregnant for eleven months! Hell I think they would die because they wouldn't be able to handle it!" Willow continued.

"H-hey I got seven months left to go so no one has to deal with it for a year." Mandarin pointed out, still snickering.

Willow shook her head, out of all the things she went through this was kind of the weirdest.

"Okay, now the whole telling everyone thing. How should we go about that?" She asked, composing herself.

Mandarin thought about it.

"Not sure yet. Hopefully soon because this," he motioned his small bump.

"is not going to stay like that forever." He said.

Willow nodded.

"Hm maybe we should do something like put a hotdog bun in the oven or take a picture of their reactio-"

"I'm not doing anything stupid and campy like that. I'm not a veran forsaken sitcom wife." Mandarin complained, glaring.

Willow put her hands up.

"Okay you don't have to get all mad about it. Then should we just tell them? I mean that might be easier." She suggested.

Mandarin pondered for a second.

"Well may-"

The door then opened and Otto and Sprx fell down. Willow and Mandarin quickly turned to them. Willow growled at them, her red eyes glowing. Mandarin however, looked terrified. How long were they listening in?!

"H-hey you guys." Sprx laughed nervously, getting up slowly.

"Breakfast is ready!" Otto gulped.

Willow growled at them.

"Okay, you know what my biggest pet peeve of all time is?" She laughed, a red aura around her.

Sprx and Otto backed up.

"When people!" She began to stomp over to them.

Mandarin snapped out of his panic induced trance.

"Listen in on private conversations!" She was about to leap on them when Mandarin picked her up.

"H-hey!" Willow yelled.

Mandarin sighed.

"You need to calm down." He said before frowning.

"Besides you listened in on my private conversation a few weeks ago so...kind of hypocritical isn't it?"

Willow was about to retort but crossed her arms and pouted.

"That was an accident!" She huffed.

"Still...anyway you don't need to beat them up over it."

Sprx and Otto sighed in relief.

"Let me handle this." He finished.

Otto and Sprx looked at each other before beginning to run when the door shut.

"Now..." Mandarin set Willow down and walked over to the two, who were scratching and screaming at the door.

The two stopped and backed up against the door.

"How much did you exactly hear?" He asked.

When the two looked up at him they expected for him to be pissed but instead he looked almost scared.

"N-not much we swear! We were on our way to get Willow for breakfast when we heard you two talking!" Sprx explained.

"Yeah! Something about wanting to tell us something and how you were gonna do it that's all!" Otto defended, shaking.

Mandarin blinked before relief washed over him. Thank goodness.

"Is that all you heard?" Willow asked, hands on her hips.

Sprx and Otto quickly nodded, not wanting to get killed.

Willow sighed.

"Good now let's get some breakfast." She huffed.

The door opened and Otto and Sprx fell onto the floor. Mandarin made his way past them, feeling so much better.

Willow walked past the two as well when they got up.

"Oh and if I find you guys spying on me again..." She glared murderously at them, causing them to flinch.

"I will make you pay." She then walked up with Mandarin.

Sprx and Otto shook.

"She...she's crazy!" Sprx wheezed.

"I'm not really hungry anymore." Otto whined.

Mandarin looked back at them.

"Don't you think that was a bit too much?" He asked Willow.

Willow crossed her arms.

"Nope! That's one of my biggest peeves and the sooner they know that the better." She huffed.

Mandarin looked back at them again.

 _"But threatening them with violence...I mean I'd do it but...what caused her to feel like that?"_ He thought.

* * *

Everyone, minus Sprx and Otto who came later, was enjoying their breakfast.

"Hmph, to think I was going to get food before anyone else." Mandarin grumbled, sitting in the same spot he sat for dinner.

"Sucks to be you." Sprx shrugged.

Mandarin raised a eyebrow before continuing to eat.

"You know, Mandarin, you can sit with us." Jinmay suggested.

Mandarin paused before shaking his head.

"Nah."

Jinmay looked down a bit, feeling let down.

"It was a nice try." Chiro patted her shoulder.

Mandarin glanced over to Willow, who was talking with Antauri like nothing between her and Otto and Sprx happened. The same is happening to Sprx and Otto. What's up with that? Shouldn't they be, I don't know, so scared of her they want to eat as far away from her as possible?

It just didn't make sense to him. He could probably talk to Willow about this later...hopefully somewhere very secluded. Or just have Antauri talk to her, she'd be more up to talking with him.

Mandarin nibbled on his scrambled eggs a bit more before going over to get seconds. He was starving!

"Erm Mandarin are you feeling ok?" Chiro asked.

Mandarin turned to him.

"Yes why?"

Chiro was hesitant to speak.

"I mean you've been throwing up the past two weeks and now you're eating full meals again." He pointed out.

Mandarin shrugged.

"I'm possibly starting to feel better. What's so strange about that?"

Chiro sweated a bit, really not wanting to point out the obvious. The obvious changes that's been happening to him.

"I-I mean-"

"Is there something you're not telling us?" Sprx asked, remembering Willow and Mandarin's conversation.

Willow looked at Sprx before looking back at Mandarin.

Mandarin blinked before placing more scrambled eggs on his plate.

"I know what you're talking about, I just do not feel like talking about it right now." He told him.

"Wait what's he talking about?" Nova questioned.

Willow sighed.

"He was talking to me privately until these two overheard some of it." She stated, motioning to Otto and Sprx.

Antauri's eyes widened.

"Willow you know what's happening to him?" He asked.

Willow nodded but looked at Mandarin.

"Yeah, but I'm not gonna say anything until he's ready to talk about it." She said, causing Mandarin to feel a bit relieved.

Gibson looked at Willow, then to Mandarin, then continued eating. He knew what was going on and he would like to talk to Mandarin later.

"So...wanna tell us?" Sprx asked.

Mandarin sat back down and promptly told him, "Nope."

Everyone sighed, darn.

"I do not appreciate being probed twenty four seven, so just leave me alone." He huffed before continuing to eat.

Everyone looked at each other and decided to leave it alone for now. Gibson looked back at Mandarin before continuing to eat.

* * *

The robot landed on Shuggazoom and Willow looked outside.

"Woaaah! It's so...beautiful!" She exclaimed.

Chiro smiled.

"Thanks. Wanna take a tour?" He asked.

Willow turned around, her eyes sparkling.

"That sounds awesome!"

Everyone began to clear out and Mandarin stood in the back.

Otto looked back.

"Mandarin, don't you want to- oh right." He quickly turned around and told the others he'd be watching him.

Mandarin nodded and sat near the transport tube, almost as if he was waiting for something.

* * *

Hmm interesting. Anyway thanks for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts!


	7. Chapter 7

Hey here's the next two chapters! Thanks to those who seen and faved this fic so far! It's really nice! I may update more when my spring break comes up but idk.

* * *

Willow had done so much already today. She'd gone to the ice cream shoppe, to Shuggazoom park, the arcade, and to many other great places. Everyone seemed pretty friendly too, which was a huge upgrade from Natulis.

Willow chomped on her hover burger and sighed. This was perfect. She could be free for once, free to be herself.

"So how do you like it?" Nova asked.

"It's delicious!" She exclaimed, mouth still full.

Nova laughed.

"No I mean Shuggazoom." She said.

Willow swallowed her food. Everyone waited with anticipation. She eyed everyone, a smile growing on her face.

"It's...it's amazing. I'd never thought that this many people would be so kind to me." She said softly.

Jinmay's faced saddened a bit.

"Was Natulis really that bad?" She asked.

Willow slowly nodded but her mood changed.

"Yeah but so what? That was my old life, this is my new one." She said before continuing to eat her hover burger.

"Hey we should go to the park later tonight, they're having a karaoke thing going on." Sprx suggested.

Willow blinked in confusion.

"Yeah that sounds fun!" Jinmay exclaimed

"You know Otto's gonna want to go to that!" Chiro pointed out.

"That means someone's going to have to switch with watching Mandarin." Nova huffed.

"W-wait guys-" Willow gulped and Gibson raised his hand.

"I'll stay behind. I have some things I have to do anyway." Gibson said.

"You'll be missing all the fun." Sprx chirped.

Gibson sighed but smiled.

"I can go next time."

Besides there's some things he wants to talk about with Mandarin anyway.

Willow gulped and sweated nervously.

"Hey you know we could go to the movies! That sounds super fun too!" She suggested.

Chiro turned to her.

"Maybe after, come on Willow it'll be fun." He said.

Willow looked at everyone staring at her.

"Willow you don't have to sing, but it would still be nice if you came." Antauri said to her.

Willow stared at him. He thinks it would be nice if she came? Willow blushed and twirled her hair.

"Well I guess I can go, but I'm not singing!" She chomped on her burger some more.

Everyone was glad, until she coughed out some weird blue hair.

* * *

Mandarin tapped his arm nervously. Tilamat said it was coming today, but how was he going to get everything past Otto? Otto was on the floor, tinkering with a small machine.

A lot of things weren't adding up for him. Shouldn't they take extra precautions since he's been their enemy for so long? Yes having someone keep an eye on him and not letting him leave is the right thing to do, but shouldn't he be locked in his room or something? For that matter, why are they acting so strange around him too? So naturally, it made Mandarin very confused. Willow? Was Willow somehow doing this? Everyone does seem to have most of their attention on the monkey teams new playmate, and all that's been going on around her didn't make much sense either. Why did she have so many powers? Why did his clone want her? Why was she so violent and everyone acting like it's a comedic antic? Why does everyone like her so much? He didn't hate her nor did he like her that much anyway. It just didn't make sense to Mandarin at all.

"So...whatcha been up to?" Otto asked, not taking his eyes away from his trinket.

Mandarin snapped out of his thoughts and looked over at him.

"You mean after I was replaced?" He asked.

Otto looked back at him and nodded.  
Mandarin looked to the transport tube before looking back at Otto.

"Skeleton king placed me in one of the dungeons he made for 'incompetent servants'. He placed me in the strongest one he had in order to keep me occupied until he figured what to do with me. I was supposed to be executed however I guess they got busy and forgot about me." Mandarin said.

"How'd you get out?" Otto asked.

Mandarin smirked.

"I guess that cell wasn't as strong as it seemed. After I broke out I got off planet and just wandered for a while." That last part was a lie.

Otto smiled. It's been so long since he last talked to Mandarin, especially like this.

"So where'd you go?" He asked.

Before Mandarin could say anything else the doorbell went off and a man with a bunch of different sized boxes appeared on the screen.

"Erm I have some packages." He said.

Otto frowned in confusion before turning on the microphone.

"Uh we didn't order any-"

"That would be for me!" Mandarin interrupted.

Otto looked up at him as the delivery man nodded.

"Then can you please sign this?"

Mandarin nodded and quickly made his way to the transport tube.

"Wait Mandarin!" Otto called out to him.

"Don't worry it's just my things." Mandarin said before he went down.

Otto watched as he signed the paper and quickly brought all the boxes inside. Something's not right.

Mandarin tried to push all of the boxes into the large room next to his, wondering why there were two huge storage rooms to begin with anyway. As soon as he got every one of them in he looked over the biggest one.

"Ugh this crib is going to take forever to put together, perhaps if I use some of Otto's tools maybe-"

"Mandarin?"

Mandarin quickly turned to Otto, who stood in the doorway.

"What's all this?" He asked, looking at one of them.

Mandarin's eyes widened and he stood in front of them.

"It's nothing! Just some items I happened to acquire while I was gone." Mandarin lied.

Otto frowned.

"But they're all baby stuff..."

Mandarin gulped nervously. Not today, not today! He wasn't ready for this!

"Oh is that so? Wow and I thought I got something else, oh well! Who knows we might have citizens in need of this stuff so that can be one of the things we can do with this."

Otto balled his hands into fists. He's doing it again. It's happening all over again.

"Or we could possibly sell it, that could be arranged too." Mandarin chirped, moving one of the boxes.

"You're doing it again." Otto muttered.

Mandarin blinked.

"Doing what?"

Otto looked up at him, upset.

"You're lying to me again."

Mandarin blinked, shoot how did he catch on so fast?!

Otto shakily sighed.

"You lied to us a lot back then. About where you were, what you were doing, you were even lying to us about what you were thinking about! Now you're doing again with all of this!" Otto choked, resting his hand on the larger box.

"I just...I just want you to tell me the truth. I...we're worried about you."

Mandarin gritted his teeth, a sudden anger flashing.

"Why?! Why does any of what's happening matter to you? I'm not going to stay long anyways!" Mandarin huffed.

Otto looked up at him again, saddened. This caused Mandarin's chest to twinge but he stood his ground.

"Because we missed you and we care about you! Don't you get that?" He choked out softly.

"Si...since when?!" Mandarin exclaimed.

Otto blinked and stepped forward, now tears running down his face.

"Ever since we got you back! I know it might not seem that way with the others but I was so happy when we found out you were good again. I was so happy when Chiro decided to have you stay with us! I thought things would go back before you turned on us..." He sniffled.

"But you're still acting cold and secretive...I just want...I want my best friend back." Otto whimpered.

That did it, Otto tugged at Mandarin's small heartstrings and now he was stuck. Mandarin looked back at the box with the crib parts before looking back at the small crying monkey.

Before he even opened his mouth Otto said, "And don't just say it's none of our business and keep what you're going through a secret. You kept too many secrets from us too!"

Mandarin sighed, he wasn't even going to say that. Still,it was now or never.

"Think about it."

Otto looked up at him.

"Huh?"

"I want you to think about it. You're smart enough. My symptoms, these boxes, this..." he pointed to the bump on his stomach.

"...and the conversation you overheard with me and Willow." Mandarin hinted, crossing his arms.

Otto frowned and thought about it, looking at one of the boxes.

"I'll give you a hint, it's what Gibson was talking about when you took me in."

Otto continued to think about it, the hint in mind. He then looked at the box with the crib in it, then back at Mandarin, then back at the box, then back at Mandarin until his eyes widened. Now he got it.

"You-you're-you're preg-" then Otto fell on his back, fainted from the shock.

Mandarin flinched. Somehow he knew someone was going to do that.

* * *

Otto groaned and rose up, a pillow under his head. He looked and saw Mandarin trying to put something together.

"Oh you're up." He chirped.

Otto sat up.

"Y-yeah...sorry I just-" Otto stuttered before Mandarin looked back.

"Please I knew at least someone was going to faint. Might as well be you." Mandarin huffed.

Otto blushed slightly and nodded.

"Y-yeah...so you really are pregnant."

"Yep." Mandarin said, hooking one of the pieces with the other.

Otto thought he might faint again but he fought against that.

"But you're a guy...well then again Gibson DID say that Tabithians can make any gender preggers." Otto shrugged.

Mandarin looked over the directions again.

"This isn't a crib, it's a mid air cage how in- never mind." Mandarin huffed, Tabithian cribs were so hard to figure out.

Otto edged closer.

"Did...did they force you to be pregnant?" Otto asked, feeling really bad for him.

Mandarin shook his head.

"No, I volunteered." He muttered.

Otto frowned a bit.

"Volunteered? Why would you volunteer to have a baby?" He asked.

Mandarin stopped tinkering.

"I know you're not going to like this, but when I tell everyone else you'll know too."

"Mandarin-"

"I just don't want to talk about it right now." Mandarin protested.

Otto looked down, saddened a bit.

"If it helps, let's just say I'm doing a favor for someone."

Otto's head perked up at that. A favor? For whom?

Mandarin looked back at him again.

"Also can you keep this quiet until I'm ready to say anything?"

Otto nodded.

"Of course." He said, smiling a bit then paused.

"But when are you going to tell them?" He asked.

"Tomorrow, they probably have all sorts of plans planned today with Willow." Mandarin decided.

Otto nodded in agreement. He wanted to ask about why he even has this much baby stuff in the first place, but he had a feeling he would explain that tomorrow too.

It then got quiet again as Mandarin kept fiddling with the crib.

"Do you need any help with that?" Otto asked.

"Yes actually can you get your tool box because I'm going to need it with the other stuff." He said.

"Yeah- actually wait you can let me do for you since you're preggo-"

"Otto I can put it together myself I'm not dying." Mandarin huffed.

"You still don't need to strain yourself you goof!" Otto snickered as he ran off.

* * *

Willow and the others soon came home, Otto taking a lunch break from helping Mandarin and eating on leftover hamburgers.

"Welcome back! Did you have fun?" He asked, mouth full.

"Yeah it was awesome!" Willow said excitedly.

Otto gulped down his food as Mandarin came back up with his lunch.

"Otto for some reason these people want a literal giant duck sign mounted on the wall. However I was thinking we could put something else up there, like I don't know maybe a snake or-" Mandarin then noticed everyone back and his face flushed.

"Y-you're already back?" He gulped.

"Yeah we're taking a break before we go back out." Chiro said, confused by what Mandarin said before.

Otto's eyes widened as they could have heard what's going on but he settled himself. Act calm.

"So what are you guys gonna do when you go back out?" He asked.

"There's a karaoke event in the park tonight so we're going to that." Nova said, putting down her bags from the places they shopped at.

Willow's stomach twisted in anxiety at the thought.

Otto's world crumbled.

"Awww that sounds fun!" He whined.

Gibson raised a hand and smiled.

"Otto I'm staying here tonight to work, you can go have fun while I watch Mandarin." He explained.

Mandarin growled. He didn't need a damn babysitter!

Otto gasped and hugged Gibson to the ground, ecstatic.

"Thank you Gibson!" He cheered.

"Get off! You're welcome!" Gibson yelled, pushing Otto off of him.

Everyone, minus Mandarin, snickered at this nonsense. Willow sighed, she really felt at home with everyone. Her pocket vibrated and she took out her phone.

"Hold on." She walked to the other side of the room and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Willy?! Oh thank god!" A slightly high pitch voice exclaimed.

Willow's eyes widened.

"Amanda?!" She shouted, causing everyone to look at her.

Willow heard sniffling on the other side.

"You're okay! You've been gone for weeks!" Her sister whined.

"I know but don't worry I'm not at the hands of that orange skeletal creep anymore." Willow assured her.

"Then where are you?" Another voice, male, asked.

"Trent is that you?!"

"Who else would it be you butt?!"

Willow felt tears coming to her eyes, hearing their voices again was so relieving to her.

"We've been trying to find you for weeks now, we thought...we thought that jerk got the other side of you..." Trent said, his voice sounding a bit distant.

Willow sighed.

"I know, but he didn't. The Hyperforce saved me." She explained.

"The who?" Amanda questioned.

"I'll explain when you guys get here. Trent you're riding my dad's ship right?" Willow asked.

Chiro began to go over to her but Jinmay stopped him, mouthing him to wait.

"Yeah."

"Then you should put in the coordinates for Shuggazoom and come over as quick as you can." Willow ordered.

"Shuggazoom? Man, these people have weird names." Amanda muttered as Trent said,

"You got it chief."

"Wait where are you guys right now?" She asked.

"We're near Gelentia 3, why?"

That's not too far from here!

"Okay you're close by then!"

"Great! So I guess we'll see you in a few days?" Trent questioned.

"Sounds good to me." Willow said, smiling.

"See you in a few days! Oh and Willy? Mom really misses you." Amanda said softly.

Willow smiled a bit, remembering her mother's kind face.

"I know she does, see you."

"Bye!"

Willow hung up her phone and turned to everyone.

"We might have some company later..."

"Oh I bet we will." Sprx said.

Mandarin blinked before looking down at his plate and continuing to eat. More weirdos. Fun.

"Mandarin you're eating some weird stuff." Sprx commented, grossed out by the Mac and cheese with mayonnaise on it.

"Hush." Mandarin huffed.

Willow blinked then sighed. Cravings.

* * *

So Otto now knows! For now. Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

Yeah this story is gonna be super long, I'm giving you a heads up right now. Also you know one of the fun things of writing a forced sue fic? Putting in songs that you like! So it gives me an excuse to put in my weeb music so yay! Don't worry the lyrics will be in English and I will put in a link so you can listen to the song.

Beyond the Stars belongs to AKB48 and Snowing In Venice (Even though I just mention the title) belongs to Elizaveta and I don't own the lyrics and suchs

* * *

The robot dropped by the park later that night.

"This way you two can still watch Antauri floor everyone." Sprx said, patting Antauri's arm.

Antauri blushed a bit.

"I am not that good Sprx."

"You are and you know it!" Sprx laughed.

Willow blinked.

"Antauri you can sing?" She asked.

Antauri blushed harder.

"Well I mean..."

"He looks so cute when he blushes...wait what the hell am I even saying?!" Willow thought before blushing as well.

"Are you kidding he's awesome! Mandarin on the other hand..." Sprx said before grimacing.

Mandarin looked up from reading and glared.

"Hey I'm not even involved in this conversation so don't bring me into this." Mandarin huffed.

Sprx shrugged.

"I'm just saying."

Nova stretched.

"Well come on we gotta go before it starts." She said and nearly everyone filed out of the robot, Willow's anxiety rising.

"Have fun." Gibson said to them.

Mandarin felt Otto softly touch his arm before he left.

Mandarin blinked before getting up and going back downstairs.

"I'm going to be in my room for a while." He huffed.

"Alright, Gibson said as he turned on the screen to watch the karaoke event.

He then looked back at where Mandarin left.

"That was Leeanna singing 'Sparkling Diamonds'!" The announcer cheered as everyone clapped.

Willow looked to the Hyperforce, Nova and Sprx went before and Otto just sang before the last contestant.

Antauri on the other hand hasn't gone yet, neither has Willow.

"Who's next?!" The announcer called out.

Willow bit her lip, praying that no one asks her. She refuses to sing, she refuses.

"How about you young lady?"

The spotlight then shone on her and Willow froze. God damn it!

"Willow! Go on up!" Jinmay said.

"B-but!" Willow stuttered before sighing.

There was no way out of it, she got up and made her way towards the stage. She gulped as she made her song choice, anxiety filling her every being. She picked a song that her mother used to sing all the time when she was little, and she loved it dearly.

"What's your name miss?" The announcer asked.

"Willow..."

"This is Willow singing, 'Across the stars' by super popular Terran band Akb48!"

Willow stepped up to the microphone and exhaled. She then began.

 _"Somewhere inside your heart  
Lies a single star..." _Everyone was immediately floored by her voice. She sounds amazing!

 _"That's where the person who you're destined to be with  
Lives, that's what I was taught..." _She sung, feeling a bit less nervous.

She remembered the times her mom would sing this song to her, whenever she would get scared or came home crying from bullies. The more that Willow began to sing, the more confident she became.

 _"When I feel sad, I  
Turn my telescope  
Towards the sky  
And search for the love  
That I haven't yet laid eyes on..." _

Back at the robot Gibson was just as floored as the audience was. All he could do really was watch, not moving an inch. Mandarin however was working on the nursery and could only hear the singing from above. It's not that he didn't like it, he just wasn't as floored as anyone else.

 _"If that far-off someone  
Notices me here,  
It'll cross through time..." _

Mandarin placed another nail in the crib.

"Hmm so that's one of her many talents..." He muttered.

Willow's fear soon depleted and her eyes then trailed to Antauri, who was in awe.

 _"I'll be here, you can depend on it  
Even if I lower my gaze,  
It's not that I'm rejecting you  
I'm just awkward, that's all. Even if you've forgotten about me  
Surely when coincidences  
And chance pile up,  
I'm bound to be able to meet you."_

Then whatever was kept dormant in Willow swelled through her as her confidence showed fully and her voice soared.  
 _  
"No matter how long it takes, I'll be here  
Even if I'm growing anxious,  
It's not that I'm losing hope,  
I'm dreaming a dream, that's all..." _

Memories of what happened to her from when she was a kid to now flashed in her mind, and that was all she kept her mind on. However Antauri's image then shone in her mind.

 _"No matter how long it takes, I'll have faith  
Even if I'm all on my own,  
I'll be reborn into a completely different person  
Than who I was yesterday..."_ Willow continued.

"I never expected her to be this good!" Jinmay whispered.

"Yeah..." Nova sighed.

"Antauri you have some severe competition." Otto whispered to Antauri.

Antauri didn't say anything, all his attention was on Willow.

 _"I'll be here, you can depend on it  
Even if I lower my gaze,  
It's not that I'm rejecting you  
I'm just awkward, that's all..."_

Willow was now full into this now, wondering why she was ever so scared to begin with. Her focus wasn't on the memories she had anymore, but now was full on Antauri and his focus was on her.

 _"Have no doubt, I'm waiting for you  
Even if you've forgotten about me  
Surely when coincidences  
And chance pile up,  
I'm bound to be able to meet you..."_

"Willow.." Antauri breathed.

 _"I'm bound to meet you."_

They both knew at that moment. They were falling in love.

The song ended and she was met with a thunderous applause and cheers. Willo gave a quick bow and rushed back to her seat and placed her hands in her face.

"You all are so dead." She whined, bluffing.

Nova lightly punched her arm.

"Come on! You were amazing!" She said.

"Yeah I didn't know you had a set of pipes!" Chiro complimented.

Willow held back a smile, that was kinda fun.

Antauri tried to hold back a blush but for some reason his face flushed. Why did he feel this way towards her, and a human none the less?

"Alrighty! Who's next?"

Antauri felt Otto pushing him.

"Go on!" Sprx snickered.

Antauri sighed and got up.

"I guess I will." He said, going over to the stage.

Antauri then started singing a song called, "Snow in Venice."

"Jeez he is good!" Chiro commented, laying back.

"Told ya." Sprx smirked.

Willow stared, listening. His voice, it was like listening to dark chocolate and silk. She was almost hypnotized by his voice. She didn't even notice Jinmay shake her shoulder.

"Willow? Willow? He's done." Jinmay said as Antauri sat back down.

Willow blinked before looking at her.

"Oh...right." She said, her cheeks a light pink.

* * *

Mandarin grumbled as he looked over the instructions and then at the crib before messing with it again. He's been at this for hours now and he's finally almost finished with it.

"Almost there, I just need put a nail in the wall and it should be good to hang it up." Mandarin sighed.

"Busy I take it?"

Mandarin nearly messed up the whole crib before turning to Gibson.

Gibson walked in, looking around the room.

"What are you-?"

"Usually the parents would create a nursery back on their planet, are you just creating a floor model?" Gibson asked.

Mandarin went cold. How did he-?! Then again Gibson was smart as hell, so really it shouldn't be surprising.

"I guess my symptoms were pretty obvious?" Mandarin questioned.

Gibson nodded.

"I figured it out after a few weeks, your constant morning sickness and mood swings were a bit of a giveaway after I asked about the Tabithians. That and I'm surprised no one else figured it out by the size of your abdomen." Gibson chirped sitting down.

Mandarin frowned at the comment but knew to keep his mouth shut.

"I'm surprised too, I guess they're too busy focusing on their newest teammate instead of me." Mandarin huffed.

Gibson shrugged.

"That is a possibility, she does happen to have a lot of mystery surrounding her." He said.

No kidding. Mandarin put down the crib and fully turned to him. Gibson leaned forward, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

"I think both of your situations happen to be very interesting. I'm very interested in this as well." He said, smiling.

Mandarin blinked, he seemed very giddy by this. Not weirded out by his pregnancy at all. Unlike a few weeks back.

"I mean humans can't get pregnant by Tabithians, nor can cisgender males by any chance! So there wasn't any way that it possibility could have been looked into. But now I can actually witness it! The amount of research I will have will be incredible!" Gibson squealed.

Mandarin frowned, kind of peeved that his situation was taken as a meer research experiment. He knew Gibson was awfully curious, but his giddiness and lack of sensitivity just bothered him for some reason.

"Is there an actual reason why you're here? Or are you going to perform tests on me for your research?" He growled.

Gibson realized he went a bit far and coughed. He looked back at Mandarin with guilt.

"I'm sorry, you're right. That's not what I'm here for, I'm here to ask if you were going to tell anyone else about this?" Gibson asked.

Mandarin went silent for a moment. He remembered his conversation with Otto earlier in the day.

"I do plan to by tomorrow, though Veran knows what they'll have planned for Willow that day." Mandarin answered.

Gibson nodded then looked at his scanner for any plans.

"As far as I know I haven't heard of any plans tomorrow, then again you can tell them at any time. Or I could do it for you-"

Mandarin raised a hand.

"No I can do it myself, I'm self sufficient." He huffed.

Gibson smiled and set down the scanner.

"Alright then, I hope it goes over well then." He said.

Mandarin nodded, agreeing.

"Yes but don't hold me back if Sprx says something completely stupid."

"I can imagine he will but please refrain from violence. Now do you want something to drink?"

* * *

"We're home!" Otto yelled, as everyone piled in.

Mandarin and Gibson were sitting across from each other, drinks next to them. Gibson was excitedly talking to Mandarin while he sipped his milk.

"And I heard Tabithians are born with sharp teeth but they learn to smooth them out so we'll need to-" Gibson then noticed everyone coming in and quickly changed the subject.

"Oh you look like you all had fun." He said, Mandarin shifting slightly.

Chiro blinked but smiled.

"Yeah it was awesome!" He chirped.

"Did you hear Willow and Antauri?! They were amazing!" Otto said, running up to them.

Everyone was still hung on what Gibson was talking about.

"I did, I'm not sure about Mandarin but..."

"I heard don't worry, so singing is one of your many talents I take it?" Mandarin asked Willow, smirking.

"I'm not good at everything shush." Willow huffed, but smirked back.

Sprx clenched his fists. Okay that's enough!

"Gibson, what were you talking about with Mandarin?" He asked.

"Sprx..." Nova warned but Sprx ignored her.

"And why did you bring up Tabithians?"

Mandarin and Gibson looked at each other.

"Mandarin was curious about them and I was just telling him-"

Sprx stepped forward.

"Then why did you say 'we'll need to'? We'll need to what?" He asked.

Willow turned to him.

"Sprx seriously! That's between them!" She said.

"No! I'm tired of him keeping secrets from us!" Sprx exclaimed, feelings of hurt and anger clear on his face.

Flashbacks of what Otto said earlier played in Mandarin's mind. Antauri looked at Mandarin.

"Mandarin, if the Tabithians are involved we need to know if they are. It isn't safe to hide something like this from us." Antauri explained.

Mandarin looked at them all. They all had serious looks on their faces and Willow eyed him nervously. He sighed, it was now or never.

"Fine, yes the Tabithians are involved." Mandarin admitted.

The message didn't get to them at first but then it sunk in.

"Oh my god." Jinmay put a hand over her mouth.

Nova blinked.

"Does...does that mean you're pregnant? W-with one of those Tabithians right now?" She questioned, feeling incredibly disturbed.

Mandarin crossed his arms.

"My symptoms would make sense now would it?"

Nova put her hands on her face, eyes wide.

"Oh boy." She wheezed.

Antauri was indeed shocked, however it wasn't like he had a feeling or sensed something within Mandarin. It was just his mind was on other things admittedly. That and he wanted to respect Mandarin's feelings until he was ready to tell them. However now it was becoming more and more dangerous if they can't figure out how to keep him and the child safe. He could only hover next to Chiro and nod slightly.

Sprx just stood there, frozen.

"You said yourself you didn't want me to keep secrets, now I admitted to this one." Mandarin pointed out, shrugging.

Sprx blinked again before falling to his knees. Pregnant...his ex leader's pregnant.

"Holy mother of Shuggazoom." He breathed, trying to take all of this in.

Chiro was unbelievably confused.

"Wait how? I mean yeah I guess Tabithians can make any gender pregnant but...how is it gonna...you know?" Chiro asked.

Mandarin frowned a bit.

"A c-section comes to mind." He said.

Chiro nodded slightly, no doubt creeped out.

Sprx then looked back up.

"Wait they didn't force you did they?" He asked, frowning.

Mandarin shook his head.

"No they didn't, I volunteered." He explained.

Willow stepped forward.

"Okay yeah but why? Why do you want to volunteer to carry a alien baby that isn't even yours?" She asked.

Mandarin flinched at the last part and grimaced.

Everyone quickly realized and a sense of dread filled the air.

"O-oh we didn't-" Willow began but Mandarin sighed.

"No it's fine. The parents of the child are no longer alive." He admitted.

"Mandarin..." Otto muttered before trying to go over to him.

"It's fine, I mean I'm not even sure how they died. I've only met one of their relatives before hand while hiding out on their planet and she mentioned them a few times before. Then one night, she went over to me and...you should have seen how distraught she was." Mandarin sighed, laughing slightly.

The sense of dread grew thicker and Otto hopped up next to him.

"The parents only just put in their genetics in for someone to have their child. The family said they needed someone to carry the child for them to at least have some sort of parent to look after them. They knew it's what their children would have wanted." Mandarin explained.

That and they wanted at least one of their family members to make it. But everyone knew that already.

"So you decided to volunteer to basically carry and raise the baby." Chiro said.

Mandarin nodded.

"Basically yes." He said.

Sprx snickered.

"No offense Mandarin, but you and parenting ain't a good mix." He snickered.

Mandarin glared but Nova elbowed him.

"Yes I know that but it's the least I could do for them." He huffed.

Antauri smiled.

"That is an awfully kind gesture of you." He pointed out.

Mandarin flinched and looked off to the side, face flushed slightly. He then felt Otto's arms wrap around him.

"You're such a sweetie." Otto chirped.

"No I am not. I am literal darkness." Mandarin huffed.

"How are you even gonna make sure you don't crush the kid with your giant hands?" Willow asked.

"Don't remind me of that, I'm already worried about it enough."

"Still I feel so bad for the parents. I mean the poor little thing will never..." Jinmay bit her lip.

Willow looked down. She lost her father at a young age, this poor kid lost their parents and it wasn't even born yet. Hell it was barely conceived!

"Don't worry! The baby will be not only in the hands of the Hyperforce but in the caring hands of Mandarin." Otto chirped.

"Greaaat." Sprx sighed at the last part.

Mandarin was ready to protest, saying that he was going to leave in a few months anyway. However, at that point he knew they wouldn't let him leave even more, he was even more stuck than before. Then why did he not mind it as much as before?

"Well it's good that we know this now. Because if Mandarin 2 is after Willow, he might be a danger to you." Chiro said, looking a bit worried.

Mandarin raised an eyebrow and his lip curled.

"Are you kidding me? I can destroy that little fake easily. All I have to do is raise my hand and that'll be it of him." He huffed, throwing his hand down a bit.

Antauri floated over to him.

"He could still have large formless with him. He wouldn't come unprepared if he has to deal with you. It wouldn't be safe to fight anyway." He cautioned.

Mandarin thought on it. He could still take him down, no matter what formless he has. However given his condition, Antauri does make a point.

"I could still fight him." He huffed.

Antauri sighed.

"After the child is born." He said.

Mandarin pouted a bit but Otto snuggled with him a bit more.

"Is the baby gonna be a monkey or just an alien?" Otto asked, smiling.

"An alien, at least as far as I know." Mandarin replied.

"Is it gonna be all gross and weird looking?" Sprx asked, plopping down next to him.

"No it'll look like other Tabithians." He said.

"That and the babies are like wild animals when they're first born." Gibson chimed in.

"Is it kicking yet?" Nova asked, also going over.

"No, and no you may not touch!" Mandarin huffed, smacking Sprx's hand away.

"Otto is!"

"Well he's Otto..."

"So he gets special treatment?!"

"Would you two please!" Chiro sighed.

Willow laughed and admired the sight before her.

" _Amanda, Trent, you two need to be here soon. This place and these people truly are..._ " She thought

Mandarin was both visually annoyed by everyone and a bit happy by the warm attention.

"Amazing." She breathed out the last part.

* * *

So now everyone knows that not only is Mandarin preggers and he got knocked up for a family, but that Willow is a killer singer!

So here's the song that was sung and thank you for reading!

/watch?v=dJgj4WSkqVY


	9. Chapter 9

Ok so my brain hurts and I need to take a break from my math.

* * *

By the next two days everyone was getting used to Willow's stay and Mandarin's pregnancy.

Mandarin was still not allowed to exit the robot quite yet, not really because of lack of trust at this point. The team really wasn't sure how they were going to break it to the citizens of his return and his pregnancy just yet, despite Mandarin's whining.

Willow hasn't really heard anything from her sister and best friend, but she knew they were on their way and will be here soon.  
However for the time being, she was bonding with the team and enjoying herself.

The Hyperforce was bored out of their minds one morning, unsure of what to do for the day.

"If all of you are bored I do have a list of tasks that need to be finished in the nursery." Mandarin piped up.

Sprx frowned at him.

"We're trying to think of something fun to do, not something that'll bore us to death." He grumbled.

"Oh it will be fun...for me." Mandarin snickered with a smirk.

"Of course it would." Sprx grumbled.

"We should probably patrol. The other Mandarin could be hiding somewhere waiting for us to let down our guard." Antauri advised.

Chiro nodded.

"Antauri's right, if we're going to keep him away from Willow and Shuggazoom we need to find him and defeat him once and for all." He stated.

"Yeah who knows what that little freak has planned." Nova said, frowning.

Antauri turned to Sprx and Gibson.

"Sprx, Gibson, you two will take the fist rockets and search around the city. The rest of you will be on foot while I stay with Mandarin and Willow." He ordered.

"Sounds good to me." Otto hopped up from his seat, determined.

Sprx smirked a little.

"Probably so you can kiss her." He muttered, reviving a glare from both Willow and Antauri.

"What?"

Chiro stood up.

"Alright let's not waste anymore time! Hyperforce go!" He shouted and nearly everyone ran to their stations.

Leaving Willow, Antauri, and Mandarin behind. Mandarin looked around, noticing something.

"Huh..."

Willow looked over to him.

"What?" She asked.

"I haven't vomited all morning." Mandarin chirped.

Antauri smiled.

"Well that's good, hopefully it's finally stopped." He said.

Mandarin sighed.

"Hopefully."

Antauri then looked to Willow.

"Why don't we practice your powers for the time being, it would be good to get some training in." He pointed out.

Willow nodded and got out from her seat.

"Sounds good to me." She said and the two went began to go off.

Mandarin, not wanting to get bored in the slightest, left the room in search of whatever books Gibson had. However, unbeknownst to everyone, the scanners detected something coming it's way towards Shuggazoom.

* * *

"Chiro to Sprx, have you found anything yet?" Chiro asked as Otto kicked over a trash can.

"Negative, kid. Wherever the little orange fur ball is, he's a good hider." Sprx replied over the communicator.

"Same for us, we've checked the sewers and most of the city. We'll look around a bit more before we decide to try to look in the pit of doom." Chiro said.

"Well we'll fly over there just in case we can see anything." Gibson said.

"Alright sounds good, we'll meet you over there." Chiro agreed before turning it off.

Nova frowned as she glanced in the alley.

"Mandarin 2 has nearly been gone for a year and now he decides to show up? What the heck does he even want with Willow anyway?" She growled.

Jinmay sighed.

"Who knows, it's definitely not good that's for sure." She sighed.

Otto walked over.

"You think we should ask Willow? She might know."

"She's still very secretive to us Otto. When she's ready she'll want to tell us then." Chiro pointed out.

Nova pulled up the trash can that Otto knocked over.

"Well she needs to tell us soon because if he comes back and gets her again..."

"But she's really strong, she could handle him...could she?" Jinmay asked.

Everyone was silent.

"She doesn't have much combat training so probably not." Nova sighed.

"Then until he comes back, whenever that is, we have to train her." Chiro said.

Everyone agreed and continued to search.

Otto looked up at the sky, hearing something. He saw a faint dot closing in on them.

"Hey guys...what's that?"

* * *

"Keep focusing Willow!" Antauri said as Willow levitated the huge block.

She then gently set it down and she wiped her brow, that was hard!

Antauri smiled.

"You're doing very well so far." He complimented.

Willow blushed slightly and she looked away a bit.

"Erm thank you." She muttered.

Antauri blushed a bit too before clearing his throat.

"Now let's move on to using your fire powers."

The alarm then blared, destroying the moment between them.

Antauri and Willow made it up to the command center as the screen showed a ship entering Shugazoom's atmosphere.

"What is that?" Mandarin questioned, quickly leaving Gibson's lab.

"It's a might be your clone." Antauri said.

Willow's eyes narrowed at the shop before stopping Antauri from preparing the weapons.

"Antauri wait! I don't think it's him! It could be-!" Then her eyes widened.

That ship...it was so familiar before but now she realized!

"It's Amanda and Trent!"

The ship landed outside the robot, where the Hyperforce quickly caught up to it. Sprx and Gibson landed near them and ran to everyone else. Willow stood beside Antauri before the ship's doors opened.  
A girl a few years younger than Willow ran down the steps. She had dirty blond hair styled in small pigtails and violet eyes. She wore a pink turtleneck sweater and a long white skirt with brown boots. She also had a white and pink ring on her finger. She looked around before laying her eyes on Willow. She then ran to her and hugged her tight.

"Willy!" She shouted.

Willow hugged back, tears streaming down her face.

"Hey Amanda." She sniffled.

Soon another person rushed down, this time male.

He had black hair and green eyes and had a noticeable stubble on his chin and above the lip. He was wearing a green hoodie with dark blue sweat pants.

He rushed over and hugged Willow too.

"You're ok!"

"Of course I am you butt!" Willow laughed, tears still streaming down her face.

Everyone smiled, admiring the reunion while Mandarin peeked outside from the door.

The three broke apart.

"Are you ok? He didn't hurt you did he?" Amanda asked, looking her sister over.

"No, not too badly anyway." Willow rolled her eyes.

She was supposed to be the older sister here. Trent glared.

"Well if he shows his face, I'm gonna shock him until...until...until I think of better shock jokes." Trent grumbled the last part before looking at the Hyperforce.

Willow snickered at what he said while Amanda looked at them too.

"Oh uh you must be the...Hyperdunks?" He questioned.

Mandarin nearly fell to the floor laughing while everyone else looked confused and slightly annoyed.

Chiro blinked.

"Uh no, no. We're the Hyperforce, we rescued Willow from one of our enemies." He explained.

Trent nodded.

"We heard."

Amanda glared and broke away from Willow.

"Where is that orange little freak?! Because I'm about ready to beat him to the ground!" She growled.

Antauri stepped forward.

"We're still looking for him but we-"

"Isn't that him?" Trent asked, pointing to Mandarin peeking from behind the door.

Mandarin flinched and backed away a bit.

Amanda growled and began to march over to him but Willow held her back.

"No that's not him!" She huffed, trying to get Amanda from stop wriggling.

"You said orange monkey and he is orange so-!"

"Yeah but that's not him! The one I met was his clone!" Willow groaned, still holding onto Amanda.

Amanda stopped and looked at her.

"His clone?"

Willow nodded.

"Yes so calm the hell down."

Amanda then was put down.

"So...does he look like-?" Trent began before Willow interrupted him.

"No he's much smaller and more skeletal."

Amanda and Trent blinked.

"Ohhh." Amanda muttered.

"Yeah don't worry he's on our side now, and he wouldn't fight us even if he wanted to." Chiro said.

Amanda blinked then looked at Mandarin. He was a huge buff...whatever he was, surely he can fight.

"Why?" She asked.

Chiro was about to say something but Mandarin's voice piped up.

"Child I will demist you." Mandarin growled at Chiro.

"Hang on it's fine." Chiro sighed, shaking his head.

"Sure telling strangers my condition is fine!" Mandarin barked.

"Chiro let's just leave it for now because he'll have one of his temper tantrums." Nova sighed.

"I don't have temper tantrums!"

Nova heel turned to him.

"Oh hush up!" She snapped.

"Condition?" Trent questioned.

"Just let it go for now." Willow sighed.

Chiro sighed, right.

"Anyway we were looking for the clone but we haven't found anything yet." He said, then he saw the worried look on the two's faces.

"Don't worry we'll make sure that nothing happens to her." He assured them.

"Hopefully." They all thought.

Willow mentally shook off the anxiety and turned to her friends.

"So how about we go inside and have some lunch?"

Amanda and Trent nodded and the three ran into the robot, causing Mandarin to quickly move out of the way to avoid getting bumped into.

The others soon made their way inside, not noticing the shadow in the alley nearby.

"He's alive? And he's with them?! How did he esc-" the voice stopped , they almost sounded scared.

"This is going to be trickier than I thought, but no matter. I will have the girl, even if he's with them." The voice said before going deeper into the shadows.

* * *

Oh Trent! My unintentional mary sue...when you read more into the story you'll see why. Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

Alright! The double digits chapters! Now let's get to know Amanda and Trent a lil bit.

* * *

As everyone enjoyed their lunch, with Mandarin still being a distance away from everyone else. However this time he was a bit closer than usual.

Antauri looked up from his salad and looked over to Amanda and Trent.

"So if I may ask," he began, getting their attention. "What powers do you two have? If you have any at all?"

Amanda and Trent both looked at each other before Amanda sneakily smiled. Willow caught wind of this and glared at Amanda.

"Amanda don't you dare." She huffed.

Then Otto's drink rose from the cup and playfully splashed him. He sputtered and looked around.

"What was-?!"

"Amanda!" Willow scolded.

Amanda shrugged, still smiling.

"Well he asked! Besides you gotta admit that was pretty funny." She giggled.

Willow looked at Otto, who looked so confused and snickered.

"Okay maybe a little."

Mandarin then took out a napkin and began to wipe Otto's face.

"You got it all over you." He sighed, making Otto's face turn slightly red but he smiled.

"Thankies." He said, smiling.

Mandarin's face then flushed and he looked away slightly.

Amanda crossed her arms proudly.

"I have control over liquids, telekinesis, magic like Willow, and I can talk to animals." She explained.

"Oh so talking to us wouldn't be a huge problem if everyone didn't understand us would it?" Sprx jokingly asked.

Amanda shook her head.

"Nope!"

Trent was elbowed by Amanda, who was still eating his hotdog. He looked up and gulped. He quickly sat up

"Oh me? Well I have power over electricity...erm let's see...I also can use magic like Willow and erm...that's it really." He said before shrugging.

Everyone stared at him.

"What? I don't do well when I'm out on the spot." He explained.

Willow sighed.

"He moved to my school a year after my dad died, at first I thought he was gonna pick on me like everyone else did but he didn't. He was actually pretty mean to the people who picked on me." She explained and nearly everyone gasped.

Trent? Mean?

Trent blushed.

"I'm not like that anymore Willow. Besides I was just being protective." He grumbled.

Sprx smirked.

"Oh so did you liiiike her?" He giggled, then was elbowed by Nova.

Trent blinked.

"I'm not interested in girls." He said, straight faced.

Sprx blinked.

"O-oh sorry I didn't-"

"I'm not interested in boys either. I'm just more interested in friendship." Trent chirped before eating again.

Sprx blinked again.

"Oh."

Willow rolled her eyes.

"Anyway when I found out he had powers like me I was so happy, because I thought only me and my sister were the only ones who had powers back on Natulis." Willow explained.

"So the three of us clicked instantly." Amanda chirped.

Trent gulped down his food.

"Wait so what about Amanda? I mean I know she's your sister but was she picked on too?" Jinmay asked.

"No she was pretty much homeschooled because the school she was going to was terrible. That and my mother didn't want her to get bullied like me." Willow huffed.

Jinmay nodded.

"Even then I didn't show my powers to anyone. I just kinda learned how to hide them." Amanda said.

Willow looked down.

"While I didn't..." She muttered.

Antauri smiled.

"You're learning now, that's what matters right?"

Willow looked up and smiled.

"Yeah I guess." She said.

Amanda looked between the two before frowning.

"Waaait...Willow do you have a crush on someone?" She asked, crossing her arms.

Willow's face turned a dark red,

"Mandarin we do not take more food without asking." Gibson huffed.

"Excuse you I need this much."

"I know you do but still ask!"

"N-no why?" She asked.

Amanda frowned even more. She was gonna have to seriously get the truth out of her later but for right now she'll leave it alone.

"No reason- holy g, man!" She said, looking at Mandarin's filled plate.

The orange monkey blinked.

"What?" He asked.

Amanda's mouth hung open.

"I get you're a huge buff guy but jeez do you need that much?!"

Mandarin blinked, straight faced.

Otto bumped into him and smiled.

"Well he is eating for two so he does!" He chirped, patting his enlarged abdomen.

"Otto!" Mandarin exclaimed, embarrassed.

Otto looked up at him.

"What they were gonna know sooner or later."

"On the first day they're here!? We just met them!"

"It's a bit too soon but it is good to let them know." Antauri pointed out.

"Right now?!" Mandarin questioned, panicked.

Trent frowned.

"The heck do you mean by eating for two? That's what pregnant mothers say and he's a guy isn't he?" He said and Amanda nodded.

Gibson then cleared his throat as Willow looked off to the side, inhaling through her teeth.

"Ah you see-"

"Gibson no not you too!" Mandarin whined, his arm patted in sympathy by Jinmay.

"He's pregnant with a alien child that is able to impregnate males." Gibson explained.

Trent and Amanda coiled in shock before turning to Willow.

Willow looked from left to right, lips pursed before raising her hands in the air.

"He is. It's weird but he is." She stated.

Trent then was doubled over in laughter while Amanda had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming, her eyes wide.

Mandarin narrowed his eyes at Trent.

"And may I ask why this is so hilarious?" He asked.

Trent wiped his eyes and giggled even more.

"It-it's just I just remembered this game I played where sometimes the male npcs get abducted by aliens and they can get pregnant! Th-that's what I'm imagining for you right now!" He laughed.

That and the idea of a guy as intimidating as he is pregnant is just hilarious to imagine, however Trent liked living so he left it at that.

Mandarin's lip curled at this act but he knew this was possibly going to be one of the reactions. Still he hated being laughed at.

"This is so weird." Amanda finally breathed.

"Tell me about it, we only found out about this a few days ago." Chiro sighed.

"I've known for a while actually." Willow piped up then thought a bit.

"Doesn't make it less weird but you know."

Trent finally stopped laughing and looked up.

"So uh I take it you're keeping the alien baby?" He asked.

Mandarin nodded and nibbled on his food.

Trent was about to ask why but Willow placed a hand on his chest and shook her head. He then looked back at Mandarin and decided to not ask right now.

As the meal began to finish Amanda looked at Willow as she cleared the table.

"Hey Willow?"

Her older sister turned to her.

"Yes?" She asked.

Amanda rubbed her arm as she stepped foreword.

"So uh are you...gonna be staying here? I mean I know Natulis wasn't that great for you but since this place seems so nice and all..." Her voice trailed off.

Willow looked down.

"You know I'd love to stay with mom but..." She shook her head.

"I can't, you know I can't go back there." She choked.

Amanda looked up.

"Oh I do! Believe me I do! It's just that if you're gonna be staying here I want to stay here too!" Amanda said.

Willow's eyes widened and she glared.

"Now wait a minute Amanda there's no way mom would let you stay here! Not without her being here to see you!" Willow harshly told her.

"Then mom can come here." Amanda said flatly.

Willow rubbed her temples.

"Amanda she can't! She still has her job to worry about and she has a life on there and-" She began before Amanda interrupted her.

"Willow she's been wanting to move away from Natulis for a while now. She hates it there as much as you did." Amanda pointed out.

Willow sighed, that was true. Back home her mom always went to the schools and complained about her daughter's bullying problem and how people treated her, but they always had the same excuse.

 _"Face it Arwen, your child is just...not normal. Maybe it would be better if she was homeschooled like her sister or..."_

 _"Or what?!" An older blond woman asked angrily._

 _"Perhaps she should seek someone who can um...'help' her get rid of these powers."_

 _Willow never did hear what her mom said next because the teacher held her hands on her ears. However she did hear some angry yelling on the other side of the principal's door._

-  
Willow sighed.

"I don't know Amanda..."

Amanda took out her phone.

"I can ask mom real quick. She's probably off work now." She chirped.

"Amanda wait-!" But Amanda had already gone to the other side of the room, looking up her number.

She soon got a response and talked vividly with their mom, before asking the question about her staying here and her mom coming to stay too before waiting. She then jumped up and down, yelling, "Thank you!" Over and over again.

She then hung up and walked up to Willow, smirking.

"She'll be here in two months. She has to give her work a month's notice and time to pack up." She said.

Willow's mouth hung open in shock.

"B-but..."

"And Trent's parents already said it was ok for him to move out this early, they said something about turning his room into a room for his cousin or something." Amanda said, walking off.

"But wait a sec!" Willow demanded but Amanda didn't hear her.

She sighed, she really needed to call her mom later and have a talk with her.

* * *

"Now we just need to find out where you two will be staying for now." Antauri began.

"Amanda can stay in my room for now." Willow said, raising her hand.

Amanda smiled and clutched onto her.

"Ok sounds good, now what about Trent?" Chiro asked.

Everyone thought for a while. Nova looked over at Mandarin.

"You wouldn't mind having someone bunk with you for a while right? I mean until we get a room set up for him?" She asked, causing Trent to look up in fear.

"W-wait!"

Mandarin thought on it.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt, but only if he doesn't bother me." He huffed.

Trent began to sweat nervously.

"Now uh come on I can-"

"Don't worry he's actually a pretty good roommate, that is if you don't mind him talking in his sleep." Willow snickered.

"Now wait I do not-!"

"I don't mind, I'm going to be losing sleep anyway for the next few months...years." Mandarin placed a hand on his head, realizing that the kid would probably keep him up.

Trent shook slightly.

"Uh may I please have a say in this?" He asked quietly but it was already decided.

He gulped, he was gonna die at the hands of the overly buff monkey. Yay for him.

"Don't worry we got blow up beds and we'll make sure Mandarin doesn't pummel you into dust." Sprx said, patting Trent.

"I didn't say I would do that." Mandarin huffed.

Trent gulped, not really believing him.

"Alright so let's get your stuff into the robot." Chiro said and most everyone left to the ship.

Mandarin turned and went back down to make some room for Trent and his things.

Trent was hesitant to follow the others but Chiro patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." He sighed, leading him outside.

Trent whined loudly in despair.

* * *

Mandarin looked through a book after he was done moving things around a bit. Trent brought down a large box and set it down in a corner.

Mandarin looked up.

"Actually you can put most of your items in the other room." He said pointing to the nursery.

"Oh is that ok?" Trent asked.

Mandarin nodded.

"Sure it's fine. I need some privacy after all." He said, not taking his eyes off the book.

Trent slowly nodded before going back upstairs to get more of his stuff.

As Mandarin kept reading, a worrying thought entered his mind.

Perhaps it wasn't the safest idea to have the nursery inside the robot, especially since they use it to fight so much. If that happened then...what would happen if-?  
Mandarin gulped at the thought. Okay there was no way he was going to let that happen, he needed to talk to Antauri about this as soon as they're done bringing everything in.

For now he had to think of some alternative for the Tabithians living conditions.

Perhaps temporarily live in another place? Maybe but where? Or have the Hyperforce build some sort of underground base for him? That can also work, he might just ask them about when he gets the chance.

He set his book down and went to get the blowup bed for Trent. He placed it in the Nursery on the other side of the room and noticed the duck ornament. He cringed, it was so cutesy and disgustingly innocent that it nearly made him sick.

"No..I'm sorry Amas... But there is no way my child would have to succumb to something as idiotic as a ornament such as this!" He angrily thought as he grabbed it and placed it in the trashcan near the bed.

He huffed and sat back down on the bed, getting ready to look up other ornaments online when he realized what he thought before. He just thought, "my child"

He referred to the Tabithian as his. Mandarin laid on his side, a plethora of emotions flowing through him. Almost like a maternal flurry of emotions. He stroked his stomach gently.

Trent soon came back with more boxes, now very tired.

"And I still have more to go through..." He sighed.

He blinked as he saw Mandarin on his side, facing away from him.

"Um...are you awake?"

Mandarin jumped and sat up.

"Nope nope I'm fine!" He yelped.

Trent blinked, what was that?

* * *

Chiro sighed, that took a lot out of him.

"Antauri why can't I have telekinesis like you?" He asked.

Antauri chuckled.

"Are you saying that you would like more training in order to get to that?" He asked.

"If that means I don't have to pick up boxes anymore that'll be fine!" Chiro huffed before laughing.

Antauri shook his head, but smiled. The two then heard someone clearing their throat and the two turned to Mandarin.

"Yes Mandarin?" Antauri asked.

"I need to speak to you about the child's living arrangements." Mandarin stated.

Chiro and Antauri looked at each other.

"Actually we were going to discuss that with you tomorrow but today sounds good enough." Antauri said, nodding.

Chiro looked at Antauri before back at Mandarin.

"So I take it you'd like to set the nursery up somewhere safer?" He inquired.

Mandarin nodded.

"If you're still going to have to use the robot to fight, which I know you might, I would like to have the nursery set up where I won't have to worry about the robot falling over." He said, crossing his arms.

Antauri chuckled before he thought on it.

"Well we could possibly build a base under the robot but that will take a while." He muttered.

Mandarin rolled his eyes.

"This child won't be here for seven months, surely it won't take that long to build a small extra room or two." He huffed.

Chiro frowned.

"Well we might put in a few more rooms for other people, maybe a kitchen, and a huge bathroom too." He huffed.

"Still, you have Otto."

"Okay," Antauri said putting up a hand.

"We'll get it done as soon as we can. Right now why don't you just relax while me and Chiro work on setting up a blueprint."

Mandarin shrugged a bit.

"I'll suffice on that. I mean since I am your prisoner." He said before leaving.

Chiro frowned more.

"You're not our prisoner Mandarin!"

"I pretty much am!" Mandarin yelled before going back down to his room.

Chiro sighed.

"I don't get him at all." He said softly.

Antauri looked after him. He didn't mention this yet, but he could sense a lot of hurt coming from Mandarin whenever he was with them. But why?

"He just...has a hard time expressing his feelings and tends to act irrationally." He finally said.

"You don't say?"

* * *

Willow tried to practice her powers in the training room by setting various dummies on fire. She morphed a fireball in her hand, ran and doused the next dummy in flames. She panted and wiped her forehead. Willow then grabbed a bottle of water and sipped on it, but not before putting the fire out of course.

Trent was already asleep from jet lag and Amanda wanted to go shopping with Jinmay. She would have gone with them but she needed to practice in case Skelemandarin, her new nickname for him, came back.

He could be coming any day, and especially for **her**.

Willow gulped and clutched her chest. Was she listening to her thoughts right now? Or was she dormant?

She didn't know yet but hopefully she'll never find out.

"I wonder what everyone else is doing?" She thought.

She wanted to go up and look around but an idea soon popped in her head. She gripped the water bottle tighter. No, Willow was not going to resort to mind reading! She said to herself that she wouldn't! She didn't want to invade anyone's privacy.

But...it wouldn't hurt to at least practice it, just in case she needed to in an emergency.

She closes her eyes and concentrated, trying to find the closest member.

 _"Hmm hmm hmmm oh magnets you are looking so good today! Nova won't be able to take her eyes off you! Hmm, our one year anniversary is coming up too...might wanna do something."_

That was Sprx, no big surprise there.

 _"Our anniversary is coming up...oh jeez listen to me I sound so girly! God if I do want to do anything I'm going to look so stupid! Sprx will never let me live it down! Ugh whatever I need to go lift weights for a while!"_

Nova, surprisingly.

 _"Alrighty just put that there and viola! Perfect! Now the robot's lights can turn into different colors! I should show Mandarin this!"_

Otto sounded really happy, Willow would love to see his invention later.

" _Tabithians have a military? That's interesting...they can also change their gender whenever they want to?! That's incredible!"_

Gibson's having fun with his research.

 _"Green or pink? Hmmm maybe I should ask Amanda- and she's back at the hats again. Hehe she's so full of energy."  
_  
Oh Jinmay you have no idea.

 _"Oh my god! This hat with the bow is super cute I need this! No no this barrette is super cute too! Oh if only mom gave me enough money!"_

Willow groaned by Amanda's girlyness but she let that go.

 _"No I don't see the blue diamond sir, what? You want me to go up to get it? But sir I don't have bounce shoes!"_

An archeology dream again for Trent.

Willow got to Chiro but got a bit confused by what he was thinking about.

"Maybe we should add in a living room, that would be nice. Adding that to the list."

What was he talking about?

 _"Mandarin should be in here with us discussing what he wants with the rooms but, if Antauri said he should relax then I guess it's fine."_ Chiro thought.

Rooms? Was Mandarin going to move out of the robot in into somewhere else the Hyperforce is going to make? She would ask but she had a feeling she'd know later.

She skipped Antauri because she'd get too flustered over his thoughts and decided to go over to Mandarin's. She at first sensed a lot of deep emotional pain but then it dropped.

 _"...Can I help you?"_

Willow nearly fell over.

"How did you-?!"

 _"Don't you forget that Antauri and I both were trained to read thoughts. So don't be surprised if you don't really get to hear mine or Antauri's because we will know."_ Mandarin's voice huffed in her mind.

"Oh sorry." Willow scratched her chin.

"Don't be. You're just practicing are you? Then it's fine as long as you don't use it against someone." Mandarin said, telepathically of course. _"Unless its enemies then it's fine."_

Willow snickered.

"So what are you doing?" Willow asked.

"I was about to lay down for a while and rest, since I'm going to need some sleep before...well you know."

Willow nodded, who knows how many hours the baby will keep him up.

"That sounds reasonable."

Mandarin sighed.

 _"Well if you'll excuse me I need to sleep."_

"Wait!" Willow said.

"Are you...are you feeling okay?" She asked.

 _"Why?"_ Mandarin asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice.

Willow sighed a bit.

"Well I mean before I could even read your thoughts, I got a lot of emotional pain from you." She said to him.

Mandarin was silent for a moment.

 _"And why is it any of your business?"_ He asked.

"Well maybe because we're actually getting along and I'm concerned?" Willow suggested.

 _"I get that but really it's nothing to worry yourself over. Who knows? Could be those mood swings acting up."_

"Mandarin I think it's more than tha-"  
 _  
"Besides even if I do have any problems, I wouldn't say anything. It would only cause issues."_ Mandarin grumbled.

Willow blinked and raised her head a bit.

"So...you do have issues?"

Mandarin was silent again.  
 _  
"I'm going to bed."  
_  
"Mandarin!"

After a bit of silence, Willow realized that he completely blocked her out. She laid back and groaned in frustration. Just what was his problem and why was he so upset?

Willow held her knees to her chest.  
She hoped it wasn't anything too serious...

* * *

Ooh boy new characters and another on the way! Anywho thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 11

Okay my brain isn't as fried as before from math. I'm on spring break for the week so that means more updates! So yeah please enjoy.

* * *

Soon everyone got into gear and their lives became busier. They not only patrolled the city and the Pit of doom, just in case Skelemandarin was hiding there, they also had to construct the underground base and train Willow to fight.

Her skills truly were amazing and she was improving fast, faster than Mandarin was comfortable with. It only added to his suspicions.

He made plans to investigate and study in hopes of finding out just what was it about this girl. It could be dangerous if it turned out to be something truly terrible. Especially if his clone was involved, who could be planning anything. Yet he hasn't shown up yet, which started to worry him.

What was he planning? And if he shows up, what would happen if his clone saw him after all this time? He wouldn't try to hurt him would he? Or the Tabithian for that matter?  
All Mandarin knows is that he will fight the little faker, even if he has to wait out the entire pregnancy. He will be ready for him.

However he had to deal with what was happening now in the present. An entire month went by and everyone was finally settled for the time being, with Willow and Amanda waiting for their mother's arrival.

Willow sat down with an orange soda in her hand. It was a warm rainy day and the Hyperforce was out getting groceries. Mandarin gave them a long list of things he wanted, which nearly made them fall over.

Amanda plopped down next to her.

"Ughh I wanna go outside! The rain looks so much fun!" She whined.

Willow snickered and shook her head.

"Coming from the most girliest girl in the world that's really surprising, and kinda kiddish." Willow said.

"Hey! I'm still a kid at heart you know!"

"Besides you might get sick and I am not going to look after a sick sister again...not like what happened in 8th grade." Willow grumbled.

Amanda sat up straighter.

"How was I supposed to control that?! You didn't give me the trash can in time!" Amanda pouted.

Willow snickered and ruffled her hair.

"Well I'm going to go read my magic book for a bit, and no going outside!" Willow ordered before leaving.

"Alright commander buzzkill." Amanda said in a sing song voice, causing Willow to playfully glare at her.

Amanda rested her head and watched the ceiling for a while, listening to the rain outside.

She just had to go out there! It's her element out there and she wanted to play in it! She won't get sick she'll be fine! However no matter what she would say, her sister would always stubbornly refuse. It was so annoying!

What seemed to be like hours to her was soon interrupted by a voice.

"What are you doing?"

Amanda lifted her head and saw Mandarin looking at her with a raised eyebrow, his stomach significantly larger than the month before. This stuff still freaked Amanda out a bit but whatever.  
Now that Amanda thought about it, she doesn't really talk to him much does she? He usually keeps to himself and she's usually too nervous to actually talk to him.

She blinked before whining.

"I wanna go outside but Willow won't let me!" She whined.

Mandarin blinked.

"Is she worried you'll get sick? Because if you control liquids then shouldn't that not apply to you?" He asked.

Amanda snapped her fingers.

"Exactly! I just don't get it!" She whined.

She hopped up and rushed over to the screen and made the screen pop up what was going on outside.

"Look at that! It's not even that cold out and I wanna play so bad!" She said.

Mandarin walked up to the control panel, a hand on his midsection.

"Ah ha..." He muttered, looking confused and slightly unsure.

Amanda looked up at him.

"What?" She asked.

"...I haven't been on a planet with proper rain in a while. Or outside in general." Mandarin begrudgingly admitted.

Amanda blinked before an idea popped into her head.

"Well why don't you check it out?" She asked.

Mandarin looked down at her with an expression that reads, "You're insane."

"The Hyperforce still doesn't know how they should approach the citizens about me, which I will say it's pretty stupid." He huffed.

Amanda looked back outside.

"Well no one is outside right now." She said before walking to the large tube pulling on Mandarin.

"Wait what are you planning?" Mandarin asked.

Amanda pulled harder, who was pretty damn strong that she was able to move him a bit.

"No one is going to know you're outside! Besides, you need to experience rain again!" She huffed before the two made it to the tube and they went down.

Willow stood off to the side, watching them go.

"Oh boy."

* * *

The larger door of the robot's foot went down and Amanda peered outside before darting down, cheering.

Mandarin stood in the doorway.

"Amanda wait!" He called out before nervously looking around.

Amanda rushed around in the rain, having a lot of fun.

"Come on it's fine! There's no one around for miles!" She yelled before slipping in a puddle.

She sat up and snickered before continuing to mess around.

"See?I'm fine, it's just water! It's not gonna make you melt!" She said before continuing to play.

Mandarin looked around again, making sure no other human was in sight. The coast seemed to be clear.

He slowly put his hand out and jerked it back when a raindrop landed on it. Then he slowly made his way out into the warm rain, it was actually not that bad if he were to be honest. Something began to stir in him, something he hadn't really felt in ages.

"Yeah you did it! What do you think, isn't it nice?" Amanda asked before running around some more.

Mandarin stated before muttering, "Nice?"

Willow then walked up to the door frame. She looked over to Mandarin and smiled.

"So it's nice I take it?" She asked before Mandarin quickly turned to her.

"I-she-"

Willow snickered.

"No, I knew she was gonna try to get out and play. I just didn't think she'd bring you out too." She said before Mandarin went back inside a bit.

Mandarin looked off to the side before he was handed a towel.

"I think you should go back out too, you can't hide in here forever." Willow said.

Mandarin blinked before taking the towel.

"Hmph maybe. However I don't see how the others will agree to it." He grumbled.

Willow sighed.

"I can try to talk to them tonight. Who knows maybe you can actually go out when pe-AMANDA!" Willow yelled when she saw her sister morphing a large water ball.

Amanda looked back at her.

"What?"

Willow stomped over to her before dragging her back inside.

"You shouldn't show off your powers in public like that! What if the clone is watching us right now!?" She scolded.

"Aw come on Willy it's all in good fun!"

"Don't Willy me! If you're going to use your powers use them in the training room!" Willow huffed as the two made it inside.

Mandarin sighed and closed up the door.

* * *

"That was fun." Amanda sighed, drying her hair with a towel.

"You're lucky you didn't get caught." Willow sighed.

"But hey you gotta admit that was pretty cool!" Amanda smirked.

"Okay maybe but still be careful next time!"

"Okay mommy." Amanda was then nooggied by Willow.

Mandarin paced a bit, unsure of what else to think or say.

"Ermmm say..."

Amanda and Willow looked up.

"I feel like I need to say something." Mandarin started, putting his hands together.

He inhaled before saying, "Thank you."

Amanda blinked.

"Uh what for?" She asked.

"For having me experience this rain business." Mandarin stated, crossing his arms.

"Oh, uh no problem." Amanda said, scratching her chin slightly.

Willow shivered.

"Well we gotta change clothes real quick so let us know if the others come back." She said, taking Amanda with her.

"You're not even that wet!"

"Are you kidding me I'm shivering!"

Mandarin blinked before sitting back down, waiting. He looked at the screen, the live cams of the city still active. The rain was truly nice to listen too, along with the distant sounds of thunder in the distance. It was truly nice, and he soon found himself dozing off at times.

He finally began to doze off for a bit until they got back. It was nice.

He then felt something off, almost like a random muscle twitch in his stomach...wait...

He looked down at his stomach. Did his child just-? Usually every now and then he would just feel flutters but this was an actual kick. He felt his stomach and shivered.

Normally this would be exciting and amazing, but to Mandarin right now it was just so surreal and weird!  
He wasn't even sure what to do right now.

Otto then burst into the room, with Trent wobbling behind him and Chiro making sure he doesn't drop anything.

"We're hooome!" Otto chirped.

Mandarin flinched and quickly got up.

Otto ran up to him, bags in hand.

"We got your stuff!" Trent wheezed before setting them down and collapsing.

Mandarin blinked.

"Oh thank you." He muttered.

"And we got a lot of movies so we can probably set up a movie night!" Otto chirped.

"Well that sounds fun for you." Mandarin huffed as he went to get the bags.

"It will for you too, you butt!"

"Please help us put stuff away." Chiro said before helping Trent up.

Mandarin sighed.

"Fine I'll get Willow and her sister." He sighed before going down.

Otto was silent before asking, "Did we interrupt something with him? He seemed kinda out of it."

Chiro shrugged.

* * *

The team were putting groceries away, while Otto clinged to Mandarin when he came back.

Willow and Amanda entered the kitchen. Amanda wore a pink and white shirt with blue jeans and brown boots while Willow wore a black tank top that showed her stomach and had a red skirt.

Sprx's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Woaah that outfit looks hot on you!" Sprx exclaimed before Willow hit him with a slightly heavy book, her face a bright red.

Mandarin's back straightened as he watched this and his eyes widened. Did she just-!?

"Shut up, I didn't have any other clothes. Anyway is there anything I can do?"

"Yeah just help us with the sodas." Chiro said, as if nothing happened or ignored what just happened.

"She-she just!" Mandarin pointed at Willow, but no one paid attention to him.

"Really Sprx? Come on." Nova sighed, irritated.

"Oww...what? She does!"

"Excuse me but Willow just assaulted someone!" Mandarin exclaimed.

"Holy hell Mandarin that's a lot of sauerkraut." Amanda said.

"Is anyone hearing me?!" He asked, only to receive silence.

Mandarin was flabbergasted, how is anyone not scolding her for her behavior?! If he hit Sprx everyone would be pissed off at him! What makes Willow so special?

Then the wheels in his head began to turn.

A mysterious person that everyone likes and seems without much fault or faults that get ignored unrealistically? An amazing singing voice? Unbelievable powers? Beautiful beyond compare and a tragic past? Why was this so familiar to him?

Mandarin continued to think on it while everyone finished up.

Jinmay blinked.

"Willow that's a nice tattoo." She complimented.

Willow looked down at her shirt and her eyes widened. On her stomach was a skull shaped birthmark with horns on its head.

Amanda stepped back.

"It's...it's not supposed to be here." Willow muttered.

Chiro frowned.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"That birthmark...don't tell me." Trent said before covering his mouth.

Antauri looked at the birthmark, it almost seemed to glow a bit.

"Willow what's wrong?" He asked.

Willow's face paled.

"It's not supposed to be here, not now." She choked.

"Willow." Chiro went over to her.

"What's happening?" He asked.

"The conditions are right are they? For her?" Amanda asked.

"Who? What conditions?" Nova asked, worried.

Willow looked at everyone. She was shaking and her stomach twisted in knots.

"Diamanda." She breathed before collapsing.

* * *

Willow woke up seconds later with nearly everyone crowding her.

"Guys a bit of space please!" She exclaimed and everyone backed up a bit.

Amanda shook slightly.

"Willow what's going on? All you've been saying that 'conditions are right' and 'that's not supposed to be there' and 'Diamanda'. Who even is Diamanda?!" Sprx asked, concerned.

Willow looked at everyone then sighed.

"I guess it's time to tell you about her." She sighed as she sat at the table.

There was a couple of false starts but Willow then began to explain.

"When I was born, there was a demon that terrorized my home planet. She was going to spread her terror across other planets." Willow began.

"My mom said that there was this group of girls that fought against her and they nearly defeated her...but before they could capture her she retreated into another person's body with great power."

Willow sighed heavily, unsure of how to say the next part.

"And...she chose me as her vessel." She breathed, causing everyone to stiffen.

"U-uh so that means that at any time she can t-take over you?" Otto nervously asked.

Amanda shook her head.

"Not all the time really, it's just when the conditions are right and someone evil comes along and uses her symbol, that's when she takes over Willow." She explained.

"Just a symbol?" Antauri asked.

"That and whatever blood the villain has at the time." Trent said, having everyone grimace.

"So this has happened before?" Mandarin asked.

"Only twice. Once when she was six and again when she was thirteen." Amanda shrugged before Willow glared at her.

"Yeah only twice!" She huffed.

"Jeez..." Sprx muttered.

Willow stood up.

"I wouldn't worry, all we gotta do is let this one pass and have the clone stay as far away from me as possible." She said.

Everyone seemed to agree, but Mandarin had a bad feeling. He felt his clone was preparing for them...but when?

Then another thought clicked in his head.

An evil side to go with her seeming perfection? This is so familiar to him but why?

"So what conditions were you talking about?" Gibson asked.

Willow stiffened.

"Erm...well..."

The alarm went off before she could say anything. Everyone looked at each other.

No way.

* * *

Ooooohhh boy shit is gonna hit the fan! Now we got information on this Diamanda person! Anyway thank you for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

I'm having fun with this fic and with my spring break. So read and enjoy! Also if it seems some parts in past chapters seem different, it's probably me going back and fixing some mistakes.

* * *

When everyone rushed to the control panel they saw a hoard of Formless with Skelemandarin leading them. They were right outside the robot.

"How did he-?! All of the Formless at the Vixus lair were destroyed!"Chiro exclaimed.

"He must have made an army while he was in hiding." Antauri said.

Otto gulped.

"That's why he was hiding for so long." He said.

Willow felt cold. He's here, and he's here for her.

"No..."

A white hot rage burned inside Mandarin. Finally, after all this time he will finally finish him! He snarled at his clones smirk and went up to the control pad.

"Mandarin what are you doing?!" Chiro demanded.

"Finishing him off! What do you think I'm doing?! Going around with MY name, MY identity, and having him claim to be the better Mandarin is revolting!" He growled, his energy tail popping out and pushing random buttons, activating the eye beams.

"Are you out of your cranium you can't put yourself or the baby at risk right now!" Gibson yelled.

"This is the least amount of risk I can take right now, besides hiding, and I will not hide because of a tiny twerp like him!"

The eye beams were fully activated and before the clone could even touch the door. Several beams rained down and began blasting several formless. The clone quickly looked back and began dodging the beams.

"Come on stay still!" Mandarin exclaimed.

Willow looked at him for a second before joining him, activating the missiles.

Mandarin blinked, how did she even learn to do that?! Ah who cares right now!

Skelemandarin kept dodging, his army quickly depleting in numbers.

"That's right take him down!" Sprx cheered, everyone else still a bit nervous and frightened by Mandarin's actions.

The last formless was destroyed by a missile and Skelemandarin was still quickly dodging them.  
Both the beams and the missiles finally were on point on him and he wasn't fast enough. They soon collided and exploded, forming a huge cloud of dust and smoke.

"Yes! No more fake ass!" Willow cheered as Amanda hugged her.

Mandarin narrowed his eyes at the screen before he saw a white blur ramming into the robot!

"He's inside!" Antauri exclaimed before a blast was heard behind them.

They all turned and activated their weapons/powers. Skelemandarin popped out of a hole in the floor and glared at them.

"Well...that was certainly rude of you to destroy my army like that, boy!" He growled at Chiro.

"I didn't do it." He said motioning to Mandarin and Willow.

Skelemandarin looked at his original self and froze. If looks could kill, he'd be a pile of dust like Valina was. There he was, and ready to kill him. Mandarin cracked his knuckles and Skelemandarin fought the urge to back up, his breathing labored. His mind screamed at his body to fight him but his legs wouldn't move, they could only shake.

"Wait what's going on?" Nova muttered.

"I think he's scared of him." Sprx whispered.

Skelemandarin gulped.

"N-no matter! I will be taking her and she will be mine once more!" He claimed.

"Yeah in your damn dreams you little freak!" Willow growled, her hands on fire.

Then he noticed his original self's stomach, it was much bigger than before. Why? If memory serves, that body shouldn't gain weight. Skeleton King made sure of that, so what's going on?

Before he could even think more he dodged Nova's attack. He morphed his left hand into a sword and tried to slice at her, before dodging another hit by Sprx. He kicked Sprx from under his feet and hopped over to him, trying to get to Willow.

Before the two can clash, a giant hand smacked Skelemandarin to the wall. Everyone looked at Mandarin, who dusted his hands.

"I told you, raise my hand and that will be it of him." He smirked.

"Mandarin that is still dangerous! Your child-"

"Is fine you hypochondriac." Mandarin sighed.

Willow glanced over at where the clone impacted as he fell to the floor. He got up, wincing slightly.

"I will not be defeated..." He coughed before morphing his hand into a long thick blade.

"By the likes of you!" He shouted, charging at him before Willow's hand met his stomach, making the clone cough harder.

Willow glared at him, so many dark emotions were flowing through her.

"Wow, what happened to that monkey that captured me? You were so strong and scary back then." She said, her voice turning dark.

SkeleMandarin wheezed and felt himself being held by his horns.

"Kinda weak without all your scary powers now aren'tcha?" She growled, still smiling.

A chill went up everyone's spines, Willow was not acting normal.

"I...you..." Skelemandarin was thrown to the ground.

Skelemandarin coughed again and then a thought passed through his mind.

What were Gibson and his original self talking about? His child? Wait was it possible that his original self was-? Wait he's not even female-!

Then it clicked. Tabithian! Of course! He was pregnant with a Tabithian! Which means he's basically useless in the line of actual battle! And the child would be most...useful once it's born.

A dark aura pierced Willow as she hovered over him. She sneered.

"Now how about we reunite you with your master?" She said, venom dripping from every word and her eyes glowing a bright red.

He had to escape, he had to rethink his plans! Willow raised a hand, a dark ball of energy forming.

Amanda looked at the others.

"She's starting to loose control! We need to calm her down!" She exclaimed.

Antauri looked over to her.

"But then the clone-!" Sprx began before Antauri rushed over to her.

He hesitated, her aura a pitch black. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held onto her tightly. Everyone froze in shock at his affection. Willow froze as he hugged her, her dark emotions slowly melting away. The amount of shock and powerful dark emotions grew too much for her as she then collapsed, fainted.

"Willow!" Everyone rushed over to her.

Skelemandarin raised himself up, now is his chance! He morphed his hand into a blaster and blasted a hole in the wall. He quickly rushed, limping as he went. He whistled loudly, bringing a large winged beast to him.

"He's getting away!" Jinmay yelled.

Skelemandarin smirked.

"Clearly this isn't the right time for me, I admit. However I will be back for her, Hyperforce." He said.

Before he mounted, he glanced back at his original self.

"Oh and by the way, I will be looking forward to meeting your bastard child."

Mandarin froze, a ping of pain in his heart. Everyone then felt pissed, however a much worse anger was flowing through Mandarin.

"I'm sure it will be just as incompetent as you are. I should make a clone of it too when I have the time." Skelemandarin sneered.

That did it, Mandarin growled and rushed over to him in a blind rage but Skelemandarin was already flying away. Mandarin unleashed missiles from his knuckles but they weren't far enough and only blasted a few feet away.

"We lost him!" Sprx exclaimed.

Antauri placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Sprx, he will be back." He said.

Mandarin kept staring, anger pulsing through him. He then felt a small hand on him and he looked down at Otto. He wrapped his tiny arms around him.

"We'll get him for you. You need to calm down for a while." He said, trying to soothe his best friends anger.

Mandarin blinked before sighing, he has a point. For right now he needs to settle down.

"Let's take her to the med bay." Gibson said as Jinmay picked Willow up. Mandarin felt another arm pulling on him.

"Come on." Chiro said.

"Wait I'm fine!" Mandarin defended.

"You still need to be checked on!" He huffed.

Mandarin groaned and pulled back.

"Then give me a minute!" He said turning on his communicator.

He waited.

"Come on Tilamat.." He huffed.

"Hello?" Tilamat's voice asked.

"Hey it's me can you check on the child?" Mandarin asked.

"Uh sure." Tiamat said, sounding a tad bit concerned.

After a minute of silence he said, "Yeah it's fine, a bit stressed but nothing to get worried about. Why? What happened?"

Mandarin sighed, shooing Chiro and Otto away.

"Guess."

Tilamat sighed.

"I hate it when people do that, fine. Let me guess, the little crap showed up?" Tilamat asked.

Mandarin nodded.

"Yes and he tried to go after Willow but uh she and I quickly showed him what he was up against." He smirked.

"Mandarin you know you're not supposed to be fighting right now-"

"Please I only used the robot's eye beams and I smacked him to the wall. He was too afraid to even fight me." Mandarin snickered.

Tilamat sighed.

"Well it still sounds pretty dangerous I can request a few sentries to come over and keep guard just in case he won't try to hurt you." He said.

Mandarin nodded, sounded good to him.

"Also I got a question that I was going to call you about...have you been eating anything sugary lately?" Tilamat asked.

Mandarin blinked.

"No why?"

Tilamat was silent.

"Mandarin, the baby is going to need sugar! You should be having at least some sweets for it."

"Wait I thought sweets were unhealthy for a infant." Mandarin pipped.

"Yes for normal babies, but Tabithian babies need glucose to help their immune systems. I thought I sent that book to you that explains that." Tilamat said.

Mandarin blinked.

"What book? I didn't find any books that you sent me." He said.

Tilamat was quiet again before groaning.

"It got lost didn't it?"

"Shiiit! I thought-! Whatever I'll fix that, please put some sweets into your palate." Tilamat ordered.

Mandarin blinked.

"Tilamat I can't. I throw up at just the scent of them." He said flatly.

Tilamat then sounded confused.

"W-wait your stomach is sensitive to them? Why didn't you tell me this before I got supplements for that!" Tilamat laughed.

Mandarin's eyes widened.

"You do?"

"Sure! A lot of our patients have sensitive stomachs to sweets and we give them supplements to have them consume and digest them." Tilamat explained.

Mandarin raised an eyebrow.

"Well then...I guess I can have those. I mean for the child of course." He said.

"Good, I'll send a prescription and have the other doctors bring a few bottles for you. You should take them at least once a day." Tilamat chirped.

"That is if you don't loose them."

"Hey don't blame me for the book! It's the dumb packaging agency!"

Mandarin snickered.

"Sure it is."

Tilamat sighed.

"Listen I got to go, but I'll call you later tonight to talk about everything else. You sound kinda happier." Tilamat pointed out.

Mandarin frowned.

"I do?"

"Yeah, I guess those old friends are improving your mood a bit huh?"

Mandarin looked back at everyone else, who was waiting outside the med bay.

"Hush." He grumbled.

Tilamat laughed.

"See you." He said before hanging up.

Mandarin sighed and went over to everyone else.

Everyone improving his mood, psh! As if!

* * *

Gibson looked over the data while Willow slept on the medical table. So many things were going through his head while he read it. Antauri walked in.

"How is she?" He asked.

Gibson looked up at him.

"Oh! Well she's fine now, she just needs some rest." Gibson explained, however he sounded...off.

Antauri blinked.

"What's wrong?" He asked, concerned.

Gibson hesitated before he spoke.

"W-well I was looking over Willow's vitals and I came across some...interesting information to say the least." He said pulling up Willow's blood information.

The others soon sneaked their way in, wanting to see how Willow was doing.

"You see there's Willow's normal human Dna," Gibson motioned to one strand of dna.

"however I found three smaller strands of Dna in her blood." He breathed.

Antauri frowned a bit.

"What do you mean?" He asked, while everyone else, minus Amanda and Trent, was confused.

Gibson tapped a few buttons and the three strands of Dna came up on the screen.

"She's not just a human. She is half dragon, half wolf, and half demon." He breathed out, causing nearly everyone to gasp.

Another oddity that sent Mandarin's head spinning. How in all that's holy is that even possible!? She can't be four things at once! Was this another thing he had to add to the list of suspicions?!

Amanda looked around.

"Yeah? So? Me and Trent knew this for a while now." She said.

Everyone looked at her.

"What do you mean?" Otto asked.

Trent sat down in a chair.

"Well...I guess it has something to do with her mom and her ancestry but she never really talks about it with me." He said.

"Or me, we just found out about this before she was taken by the other Mandarin." Amanda pointed out.

"And her mom was about to fully talk to her about it too, saying something about knowing your full origins or something." Trent muttered.

Chiro blinked.

"Okay what do you know?" He asked.

"Something about dream givers and magic and whatever I don't know!" Trent huffed, raising his arms in the air.

Amanda looked down.

"Mom was going to talk to me about it too, saying that I'm also like Willow but she didn't get to say how yet." She muttered.

Gibson stepped forward.

"Should we take some blood samples to see what sort of hybrid you are?" He asked.

Amanda shivered and rubbed her arms.

"Uh uh! I hate needles and there's no way anyone is taking my blood!" She shuttered.

Gibson nodded.

"Then a saliva sample would suffice?"

Amanda blinked but sighed.

"Fine, but maybe later. I already got too much on my mind anyway." She said.

Jinmay sat down next to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You know, I'm surprised that Skelemandarin figured out you were pregnant." Nova said, looking up at Mandarin.

"Well he is like me, he is smart enough to put two and two together in a situation like this." Mandarin sighed.

"Which means he'll possibly be a danger to you and the baby." Chiro pointed out.

Before Mandarin could make a rebuttal, Chiro stated, "And no you will not fight him. Smacking him to the wall and having him be near you alone is dangerous enough. You really don't need this kind of stress right now."

Mandarin sighed, loudly.

"Fine, I can suffice. Since I am your prisoner."

"Again you're not our prisoner." Chiro pointed out.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Guys please we shouldn't be arguing right now. Willow needs her rest." Amanda huffed.

Antauri looked back at everyone else.

"She's right. Right now we need to fix the wall and floor and find where Mandarin 2 is hiding. He could come back anytime." He said. Nearly everyone nodded and left.

Mandarin however stayed behind for a minute, looking at the blood samples that were on the desk. He looked around before quickly placing them in his torso armor, that had a quite large storage space. He looked around again before rushing out. It was time he got to the bottom of this Willow debacle.  
He thought he heard something behind him but when he turned, Willow was still fast asleep. He blinked and left, the door closing.

* * *

Later that night, Willow was still asleep. Gibson said she'll be out for the rest of the night but will be fine in the morning. Mandarin was curled up in bed, grumbling slightly.

He wanted to go out and find him and finish him! However, Chiro was right. He can't risk putting his child in danger, no matter how angry he gets. Still thinking of what his clone said to him was so disgusting! Calling it a bastard child and wanting to clone it? Not even himself when he was evil would have said something so awful!

However it wasn't worth getting angry over, all he needed to do right now is relax and try to go to sleep. He closed his eyes and began to sleep when the door opened. When he opened them, he was surprised to see Otto quietly walking to him.

"Hey." He said softly.

Mandarin blinked and sat up a bit.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

He could swear he saw a faint blush on Otto's face.

"Uhhh I couldn't sleep well so can I..." He gulped before continuing

"Can I sleep here for tonight?" He asked.

Mandarin blinked again.

"Uh sure I don't see why not." He muttered.

As soon as he said this, Otto quickly hopped onto the bed and snuggled under the covers. He snuggled up awfully close to Mandarin, causing the orange monkeys face to feel very warm.  
It was a bit before Otto spoke again.

"So are you feeling better?" He asked.

Mandarin sighed.

"I suppose, I still want to find that fake and bash his head in." He growled.

Otto nodded and rested his head on his arms.

"I bet, but like Chiro says you can't fight him right now. You'll get to one day don't worry." Otto chirped.

Mandarin nodded slightly.

Otto snuggled closer.

"So you thought of any names yet?" He asked.

Mandarin looked over another book he forgot to go through. There was a piece of paper on the top of the lid.

"The deceased parents had a list of names they liked and whatever I like I'll pick." Mandarin explained.

Otto frowned.

"But shouldn't you make up and choose the name? Not pick one from a list?" He questioned.

Mandarin raised an eyebrow and his head tilted slightly.

"Otto have you forgotten how terrible I am at naming things? I called the Torso Tank just, 'Tank'. Just ,'Tank'." He said, making Otto giggle.

"Alright true. So is there anything you like?" He asked.

Mandarin looked over the box again.

"Would you believe me that there's a name on the list that is literally, 'Tank'?"

Otto's mouth opened and he started giggling again.

"Seriously?!" He giggled, trying to be quiet.

"I am not joking with you!" Mandarin said, trying to contain his snickers.

Otto settled down a bit.

"The male names are all weird anyway. 'Niro' is the only one I actually like." He huffed.

"That sounds like Chiro!" Otto chirped.

Mandarin was silent.

"I change my mind."

Otto snickered.

"What about girl names?" He asked.

Mandarin thought about it.

"The number one name they had on their list was, 'Lazuli'. I like that one." He muttered.

Otto nodded.

"I like that one too, It's pretty." He breathed.

Mandarin nodded, It did sound really nice.

"I won't know the gender until next month, so we have plenty of time to decide." Mandarin sighed.

Otto nodded and was silent for a minute.

"There's gonna be a party in the park celebrating the day we won the war." He began.

"Sounds like everyone will have fun." Mandarin chirped.

"Wait. I was thinking of talking the team...into bringing you with us." He announced.

Mandarin was silent.

"You mean...I get to go back outside?"

Otto nodded.

"And go to an annoying party with annoying people and have loud music blare in my ears?" Mandarin asked, fake joy in his voice.

Otto snickered, he was making it really hard not to wake up Trent.

"Yes."

"Wooooow I get to go outside! Is my prisoner status finally dropping?! Can that be possible?" He continued until Otto snickered into his pillow.

"But seriously, I want you to go. You've been cooped up in here for so long you need fresh air." Otto sighed.

Mandarin couldn't help but smile, finally someone understands his annoyance other than Willow or her annoying perky sister.

"I guess that would be fine, I mean as long as you are there." Mandarin said before blushing

Where did that come from?! Otto blushed too but snickered.

"Oh don't worry I'll be there. Just in case you get super annoyed and want to scream at people. But I'm gonna have to try super hard in order to convince everyone." Otto said.

Mandarin nodded slightly.

Otto snuggled under the covers a bit more, another thought popping into his mind.

"So uh this is gonna sound kinda weird but are you...perfectly okay with being like this? This whole buff hugeness thing." He said.

Mandarin thought but shrugged, shaking his head slightly.

"I'm fine with it. Why?" He asked.

Otto then grew nervous, not knowing how his mood swings will go.

"Erm I mean if you don't like it we can always try to find a way to get you back to normal- I mean not looking like us or anything I mean you can do whatever you want with your appearance that's totally fine I mean I just don't want you to be unhappy and such you know? Not that I'm assuming you are! Also I'm not saying your appearance now isn't normal or bad by any means I mean I don't think so and I'm screwing up I'm sorry." Otto babbled, feeling himself digging a deep metaphorical hole.

Mandarin snickered.

"Otto please. I'm fine with it, besides my old body was growing weak." He said.

Otto frowned.

"Really?"

"Haven't you noticed I barely used my legs? If at all?" Mandarin inquired.

Otto thought about it but let Mandarin explain.

"I was in prison for so long that my body was beginning to give out. So in a way this body saved me, despite it's...very large problems." Mandarin explained, muttering the last part.

Otto nodded.

"And besides, this body can be very useful. I would especially like to use this in case that fake comes back around. That way I have the upper hand." Mandarin smirked.

Otto sniggered.

"You cheater."

"Battle is not fair Otto." Mandarin piped, making him snigger more.

Otto settled down and rested his head against his chest, unknowingly of course.

"So other than that is there anything else?" Mandarin asked.

"Mm I dunno. I mean I don't mind talking I just might have a hard time coming up with anything." Otto murmured.

Mandarin rested back down.

"Then let's just sleep for now, that is what you came for right?"

Otto nodded and yawned.

"True, well g'night."

"Goodnight, and rest on the pillows so I won't crush you."

"Kay."

Mandarin closed his eyes but felt Otto move downwards.

"Night baby Lazuli...or Lazlo." Otto chirped, patting Mandarin's stomach.

"Otto!"

Otto crawled back up to the pillows.

"Ask before you do that!"

"Wait don't I get special permission to touch your stomach?" Otto pointed out, smirking.

"Well...yes but still! And there's no way am I naming my child Lazlo!"

"Aw come on it's cute!"

"No, no it's not." Mandarin huffed.

Otto snickered and snuggled under the covers.

"Night."

"Good night." Mandarin sighed.

Meanwhile in the other room, a very confused and slightly disturbed Trent heard the whole thing.

"What the hell was that?!" He thought.

* * *

So more sueish shit and Manotto shit! Praise the sweet lord! Anyway, thanks for reading!


	13. Chapter 13

*Rises from responsibilities* Holy heckie! Sorry I got really busy over the weekend and Monday, so here's the next few chapters. My friend and I got a lot done editing wise today so hopefully more updates will occur. Also do other fics have over reactions of characters sleeping in the same bed and being all coupley? Or was that just one fic I read? I don't know but it's funny and silly either way. Enjoy!

* * *

The next morning everyone, minus Otto, Mandarin, Trent, and Willow were in the command center.

"Gibson please check on Willow." Antauri said.

Gibson nodded and went into the med bay.

Jinmay looked around.

"Has anyone seen Otto or Mandarin?" She asked.

Sprx placed a hand on his chin.

"Yeah I didn't find Otto in his room this morning..." He muttered.

"You think he went out to get candy or something?" Nova asked.

"This early in the morning though?"

Amanda got up.

"I'll get him, he's probably trying to wake Mandarin up." She chirped, leaving the room.

Chiro looked to everyone else.

"Alright so today we have to find where Mandarin 2 is hiding at and finish this. Luckily Gibson tracked the direction of where he was going last night. He's possibly in the Savage lands or at least somewhere in the zone of wasted years. So we'll patrol the area and if we see him we-"

Then they heard a loud shriek coming from downstairs.

They quickly rushed down and into the storage room, where Amanda was on the floor with a pillow on her face. They saw Mandarin and Otto curled up together, Otto sleeping on Mandarin's shoulder. Everyone's mouths nearly dropped to the floor.

"You're too loud." Mandarin groaned, putting a pillow over his ears.

Otto sat up and looked to everyone else. He smiled and waved.

"Mornin'." He yawned.

"Otto what were you doing?!" Gibson asked, suspicious.

Otto looked at Mandarin then back at Gibson.

"Sleeping." He answered, still sleepy.

Amanda quickly got up and crossed her arms.

"Yeah but why were you two sleeping together?" She asked, an eyebrow raised.

Otto frowned.

"I couldn't sleep very good so I came down here."

"Okay, why together?" She asked, emphasizing on the word, 'together'.

Mandarin sat up.

"Cause he's snuggly!" Otto chirped.

"That and I didn't want him to sleep on the floor. So I let him sleep in my bed, I mean it's big enough." Mandarin said, groggy.

"B-but he was all curled up with you!"

Mandarin raised and eyebrow.

"And this is a big deal to you because?" He asked.

Amanda blushed.

"Because you two might have been kissing or being all coupley or something!"

Mandarin kept starring.

"Would that be a bad thing?" He asked, making Otto blush hard.

Amanda shook her head.

"No, gay relationships are fine on Natulis! I mean I'm bi and all. It's just you two being all romantic together is just so-!"

She blushed harder.

Mandarin was severely confused.

"I refuse to understand why this is a huge deal." He said flatly.

Otto shrugged a bit. The door to the nursery then opened and Trent peered into the room.

"...Hi." He greeted.

Amanda walked over to them.

"Trent! Were they doing anything..." then she leaned to him.

"...sexy?" She asked.

Trent blinked.

"No they were talking then they fell asleep." He stated, causing the others to sigh in relief.

Mandarin was now even more confused. They do realize he's pregnant right? Not to mention that he's so huge and can't even do any of that anyway? That and sex alone completely disgusts him?

"I was so worried he ruined Otto's innocence!" Gibson wheezed.

Mandarin blinked.

"Guys please!" Otto blushed.

"Talking about what exactly?" Antauri asked.

"I don't remember, I just woke up." Trent whined, leaving the room.

Amanda sighed and followed suit, really not wanting this to get anymore awkward.

Everyone soon left as well, forgetting this even happened.

Mandarin and Otto sat there for a minute.

"People who are not asexual are strange."

"No they aren't. I mean does that make me strange?" Otto asked, smirking.

"No because you wouldn't pull stuff like this!" Mandarin pointed out.

Otto laughed and hopped down from the bed.

"Let's get some breakfast! I'm starving!" He said, running out of the room.

Mandarin sighed and followed, feeling something weird in his chest.

Almost like affection?

* * *

Gibson looked back into the medbay, checking on Willow. He noticed that her brain was very active, not in REM sleep like it was before.

Willow stirred and began to wake up.

Gibson's eyes widened and he poked his head outside.

"Everyone she's waking up!" He yelled, causing nearly everyone to rush into the room, minus Mandarin who still had a piece of toast in his mouth.

Willow sat up and groaned. Everyone rushed over to her and hugged her.

"Guys! Can't! Breathe!" She wheezed, and everyone let go of her, while Mandarin entered the room hitting his head on the ceiling.

"How are you feeling?" Antauri asked.

Willow scratched her chin.

"Uh a lot better I guess. What happened?" She asked.

Everyone was silent.

"He got away Willow. I'm sorry." Chiro said.

Willow sighed, frowning.

"I bet, sorry I let him get away." She said.

"You don't have to apologize, it's not your fault. Besides we're just glad you're ok." Chiro said.

Willow smiled but stopped.

"Thanks but did he do anything else?" She asked.

They heard Mandarin growl angrily.

Willow blinked.

"Let's just say that he said some...terrible things to Mandarin about his child." Nova said.

Willow's eyes widened and she looked at Mandarin, who looked especially pissed off.

"Mandarin I- he is not getting away with that! Trust me!" She said, anger rising.

"Oh I know. I'll make him pay." He huffed.

"You can't fight remember?"

"I know, just after the child is born." Mandarin huffed.

Willow sat up a bit more.

"Don't worry, when I see him I'll throw in a few extra punches for you." She said, punching the air.

"Oh please do." Mandarin chirped.

"Guys please, anyway Willow, Gibson was checking your vitals when he noticed something uh...off."

Willow clenched her fists.

"So you noticed that huh?" She muttered.

"Yeah you being half demon, half dragon, and half wolf." Otto chirped.

Willow clenched her fists even more.

"Well um...yeah that's all true." She admitted.

Mandarin's head began to reel again.

"How?" Nova asked.

Willow was silent for a while.

"Did...did mom tell you anything?" Amanda asked.

Willow sighed.

"Not a lot but I figured out most of the other things on my own." She said.

"What things?!" Mandarin thought.

"Care to tell us?" Gibson asked.

Willow was silent again.

"You need to tell us, this might be important." Antauri said, sitting next to her.

Willow sighed, she had no choice.

"Fine but after I tell you, don't tell anyone else about what I'm about to say." She said with great seriousness.

Everyone was confused but they agreed. Mandarin sat down and held his head with one hand. This was going to be fun.

Willow sighed.

"As far as I know, my family's ancestry has always had relationships with the ancient dragons and wolves on our home planet. So to protect us they merged with us to give us some of their power." She explained.

She envisioned dragons and wolves made of pure light fusing with humans, including one that looked like her mother.

"I mean that's how I know I'm half dragon and half wolf, but I'm not super sure on the half demon thing." Willow said.

"And the dream givers? What's that?" Jinmay asked.

"What I heard from my mom and the information I found, they're people who give people with their dreams and use their magic for good. That's why I have so much magic and why it's so powerful." Willow explained.

Everyone was kinda stunned at this.

Oh my god none of this was adding up for Mandarin in the slightest. Ancient beings fusing with humans? Dream givers? He's never heard of anything like this while he was studying at the Veran temple or even in any books Gibson has! It's just so-! So-! Completely insane!

Mandarin was sure his brain was fried at this point but he had to keep listening.

"So your mom was a Dream Giver, but what about your dad, I mean if it's ok to ask." Sprx said.

Willow sat back.

"My dad was apart of a group of heroes protecting Natulis, they met with the dream givers that my mom was with and then they hooked up later on."

"Yeah and my mom's friends sang a lot too I think because I keep hearing a lot of talk about songs they did with my mom and her friends." Amanda chirped.

Willow nodded.

"Now please you can't tell anyone about this, people have been hunting Dream givers for centuries and they still do." She begged.

Antauri placed a hand on hers.

"I promise Willow, we won't let anything happen to you." He promised.

Willow's cheeks turned a bright pink but she smiled.

"Thank you Antauri."

Mandarin raised a hand.

"Wait how do you know all of this? If I'm correct, your mother didn't say a lot on it right? If that's the case then how did you know everything else?" He questioned.

Willow blinked.

"I read about them in my moms books." She answered.

"It's not in any of the books we have...or the Veran temple either...so how do I know whether this is true or not?" Mandarin thought.

"This is all so confusing." He thought.

"It is a little but I'm not lying." Willow's voice said in his head.

He looked at Willow, who was saying something to Otto but glanced at him and smiled a bit.

Mandarin raised an eyebrow.

O...Kay.

"So is there anything else you want to tell us? Because if Mandarin 2 comes back we need to figure out if he has any other motives." Antauri asked.

Willow was about to say something else when they heard a ship landing near them.

"What was that?" Trent asked.

Willow and Amanda looked at each other.

* * *

A large ship, associated with the galaxy moving company, was outside the robot with various boxes being put outside.

Everyone went outside to see who it was.

A woman was at the top of the ship's entrance, talking to one of the movers.

Willow squinted her eyes at the woman before realizing.

"Oh my god..."

"Mom!" Amanda squealed.

Their mother looked down on them and a huge smile spread across her face. She rushed down the entrance and bear hugged her daughters.

"Mom you're early!" Amanda huffed.

She laughed, having a surprisingly hearty laugh.

"I know but I got done with packing early and found a place not too far from here." She said.

She was a bit taller than Willow and had Amanda's eye color and hair color. However she had Willow's very mature figure and her mouth was curved slightly, almost having a cat like mouth. She looked older but was very pretty.

Willow's eyes welled up with tears as she hugged her mom. It felt like a thousand years being away from her. Amanda let go and let the two hug it out.

"I was so worried about you, Glory." Her mom muttered, rubbing her back.

"I missed you too." Willow choked out.

They held onto each other for a while before breaking apart. The mother then noticed the others staining at her.

"Oh! I'm sorry I didn't even introduce myself." She said before fully turning to them.

"I'm Arwen Clint, Amanda and Willow's mother." She greeted.

Everyone greeted her , Mandarin actually snuck outside in order to get a better look.

"Uh hi miss Arwen, we're the Hyperforce. We-"

"I know who each of you are, Amanda sends a lot of pictures and talks a lot." Arwen giggled.

Mandarin looked around. Including him?

"Let's see... Chiro, Gibson, Sprx, Nova, Otto, Jinmay, Antauri, and the one looking like a lost puppy is Mandarin right?" She asked, causing Mandarin to flinch a bit.

Chiro scratched his chin. Jeez she was good.

"Uh yeah. So I take it you're going to stay here and help us?" He asked.

"You know it, I mean it's the least I can do for the people who are taking such good care of my daughters." Arwen said sweetly.

"It's no problem at all, they've been very great to be with." Antauri said, making Willow blush.

Arwen glanced between the two before it clicked in her head that they liked each other a lot.

"Well that's good, so after I put the boxes in my place I'll come over and we'll have some lemonade." She said.

"Do you need any help with that?" Otto asked.

"No these guys got it, but thank you though. I'll be right back." She said, grabbing a few boxes and bringing them into a nearby building.

Willow and Amanda looked at each other before following her, helping her anyway.

Everyone watched them go.

"Mandarin aren't you supposed to be inside?" Nova asked.

Mandarin shot her an annoyed glare.

"Uh yeah about that there's something I want to talk to you about." Otto laughed nervously.

* * *

The temple had been run down for quite sometime. It just wasn't the same without the jungle Formless keeping it intact. All the formless in the jungle were gone it seemed, at least for now.

Skelemandarin looked over the Formless production. It was going smooth if a bit slow.

He sighed and went over to a dark black out filled with all sorts of weird mixtures. He stared into it, feeling anger and frustration over his previous failure.

"I cannot let them beat me again, not when the time is just right." He muttered to himself.

The only way he did get beat is because of his original self and Willow. But since his original self is pregnant he won't be that much of a problem, Willow on the other hand is going to be harder. Now with her mother here too it makes it all the more difficult.

He can't just walk right up and kidnap her, she learned from past experiences it seemed. The clone needed to think of new ideas and fast.

Skelemandarin tapped his fingers on the edge of the hole. What to do?

Then he thought of her friends. He touched the pit and the liquids turned to show a image of Amanda and Trent.

"Willow cares about them oh so dearly, if something were to happen to one of them...then perhaps..."

Then he sneered. Of course! All he needed was one of the girl's friends and she would be his!

"If I turn one of them to my side, then the other surely will follow!" He explained before laughing.

It was perfect!

He set his black eyes on Trent, who was helping bringing in a huge box.

"You...you're perfect. The nice one, the one who is so innocent." He said, making his voice sound so sickeningly sweet.

Trent nearly dropped the box but laughed as Willow playfully yelled at him.

Skelemandarin cackled again.

He will not lose again this time!

* * *

Oooooh boy! Looks like that little nugget has some plans up his sleeves! Yes I call him a nugget. Cause he is one. Thanks for reading!


	14. Chapter 14

Dang! My longest chapter to date! Well that's until...aaw well you'll see soon enough. So enjoy!

* * *

"Are you crazy?! The citizens will freak!" Sprx exclaimed.

"But guys if we just explain to everyone he's on our side they'll be fine!" Otto said, trying to convince the others.

Mandarin listened in from the med bay, Trent having injured himself.

"What are they talking about?" He asked.

"Otto's trying to get them to allow me to go outside and go to this celebration tomorrow." Mandarin muttered.

Trent blinked and tried to look out but he couldn't see far enough.

"Okay but how are we gonna explain that he's pregnant?" Nova asked.

Otto shrugged.

"Just explain what he told us." He said.

"I don't know Otto, I mean it's still really soon." Gibson muttered.

Otto looked back at the med bay.

"Guys he needs to go back outside, he's gonna get tired of being in here all the time and what are we gonna do about Lazuli when she's born?" Otto asked.

"Lazuli?" Jinmay asked.

"It's one of the names for the baby- anyway! Please guys?" Otto begged.

Everyone was silent.

"I think it's a good idea for him to go."

Everyone looked to see Willow, Amanda, and Arwen.

"What do you mean?" Antauri asked Willow.

Willow shrugged.

"When it rained yesterday and he went out, he was actually kind of happy. I mean he didn't smile or anything nor do I ever see him smile but still. I think he misses the outside, he just doesn't want to admit it." She explained.

Amanda nodded.

"And he needs to experience rain more often...that's just me." She piped.

Arwen looked around and shrugged.

"I just got here so I don't know the whole story." She said.

The Hyperforce thought it over.

Otto gripped his knees.

"Just trust him..." He breathed.

Everyone continued to think.

"Well...I guess it wouldn't hurt." Chiro said.

The three felt very happy.

"But! He's staying with Otto most of the night." Antauri added.

They heard loud groaning coming from the med bay.

"I'm not five!" Mandarin yelled.

"Just let it go for one night." Willow told him.

Mandarin grumbled.

"Besides you get to stay with mee!" Otto said running into the med bay and hugging his knees.

Mandarin was about to protest but then thought it over.

"I guess that's fine." Mandarin said.

Amanda rolled her eyes.

"Yeah after sleeping in your bed I bet it is." She muttered, causing Willow to give her a really confused look.

"Oh they slept in the same bed last night."

Willow's mouth opened and she looked at Mandarin, eyes wide.

"I still don't understand why that's so shocking." Mandarin sighed.

"Aww that's sweet. You two must be really close right?" Arwen asked.

Otto crawled up on his arm.

"Yep!" He chirped, making Mandarin sigh.

"M-mom what if they were doing other things?" Amanda whispered.

Arwen blinked.

"Oh honey I doubt that. Anyway I haven't been to a party in...decades! So I wouldn't mind going if that's alright?" Arwen asked.

Jinmay nodded.

"Sure! It's going to be fun." She said.

"There's gonna be games, and food, and rides, and karaoke contests, and all sorts of stuff." Chiro said.

Arwen stretched.

"That does sound fun! I'll try to catch up when I get my unpacking done." She said.

Mandarin sighed.

Tommorow night was going to be hell. However, if Otto was going to be there it probably won't be so bad.

* * *

As the next day rolled around and everyone was getting ready, Willow was walking down the hall.

Then she was grabbed from behind and dragged into a room.

"What the hell?!"

She then saw her sister and Jinmay holding up various forms of makeup and she saw a black dress sitting on a chair.

"I think it's about time you looked nice for a party...and a boy." Amanda giggled.

"What are you-?! Hey! Get that out of my eye! Let me do it!" Willow yelled.

After fifteen minutes of makeovers and yelling, Willow was lead out by Jinmay. She was all gussied up, wearing a black dress with a purple belt and wearing some makeup.

"Remind me...to kill you later." She growled at the two.

Amanda shrugged.

"Well come on! It's time to go!" She said, pushing Willow.

"Don't push me!" She said before bumping into Antauri.

Antauri floated back a bit.

"I'm so sorry!" Willow said quickly.

Antauri collected himself before smiling.

"No you're fine, I was on my way to the exit." He said before fully looking over Willow's outfit.

He was taken by her beauty and found it hard to speak .

"Well...I'll see you three down there." He said before going off.

Willow's face was a bright red. This night was going to be a interesting one.

* * *

As everyone left the robot and made their way to the celebration, Mandarin was hesitant to leave.

"What's up?" Otto asked.

"The music's loud." Mandarin grumbled.

Otto blinked but snickered and grabbed his hand and tried to pull him out.

"Come on! It'll be fine!" He wheezed, trying to pull as hard as he could.

But Mandarin didn't seem to budge. He blinked and looked outside. The citizens were greeting the Hyperforce and looked so happy.

"Are they explaining to them about me right now?" He asked.

Otto stopped pulling and looked outside.

"I dunno, I can go ask them real quick. Stay here." He said before running out and pulling Chiro aside and talked to him. Chiro nodded before turning back to the others.

Otto ran back inside, panting a bit.

"They're...talking to them...about it now." He panted.

Mandarin looked back outside. The citizens seemed happy but then their happy expressions turned to worry and fear. Chiro then began to assure them of Mandarin's reformation and that he wouldn't harm them. Some of them looked a bit assured but the others still looked scared.

Mandarin continued to watch until he felt Otto push on his legs.

"Come on! I wanna take you to the games so I can win you something!" Otto wheezed.

"Don't push my legs to get me out though!" Mandarin snapped, causing him to leave the robot, Otto still pushing.

"It's fun time!" Otto said.

"Otto please I can walk by my own-!" But he was already outside and the citizens were deathly quiet.

Mandarin looked back and forth between them before looking back down at Otto. There was a sense of awkwardness in the air.

"Now you can take me there but I don't need to be pushed or pulled on." Mandarin huffed, wanting to get as far away from this situation as possible.

Otto nodded.

"Sounds fair. Now come on I'm gonna get you something awesome! There's raffles we can win too!" Otto cheered before running off.

"Otto the chances of winning one of those things is very unlikely!" Mandarin huffed before following.

"Still gonna try!"

The citizens and Hyperforce were silent.

"Uh Chiro, didn't he look uh...kind of fat to you?" BT asked.

Chiro laughed nervously.

"Yeah about that..."

* * *

Willow was with Antauri. The two were talking about philosophy and life in the universe. It felt good to know that they both have common interests, despite their contrasting personalities.

"Willow I do know a bookstore nearby that has a lot of information on known wizards." Antauri said.

Willow's head perked up.

"That sounds really good to me. Maybe we can stop by there and head back here?" She asked.

Antauri nodded and got up.

"Then why don't we stop by? No one will notice we're gone for too long." He said.

Willow nodded and followed him, blushing all the way.

What the two didn't notice was that there were three people watching them.

"Why are we doing this?" Chiro asked.

Amanda smirked.

"Don't you want to know what happens?" She asked.

"Well I mean- yes, but aren't we gonna get caught?" Chiro questioned.

"Don't worry I got my invisibility spell! We'll be fine."

Sprx nodded.

"Then let's go while we still have the time!" He said and the three followed suit.

Meanwhile, Otto nibbled on his candy while Mandarin put one of his prizes in his storage. He was worried about the blood sample, but then remembered they were at home in a desk drawer. So thankfully nothing will get crushed as Otto kept winning prize after prize.

"I told you! I'm the best prize winner here!" Otto chirped.

Mandarin sighed.

"I didn't exactly deny it but that was impressive." He admitted.

Otto hopped next to him.

"And you can give some of the stuffed animals to the baby too." He pointed out

Mandarin nodded, that he could.

Otto was silent for a bit, thinking on something.

"So I want to ask you, you want to go somewhere for dinner?" He asked.

Mandarin blinked and looked around.

"Aren't we surrounded by food stands?"

Otto shook his head.

"No I mean an actual restaurant. I mean we don't have to go to an inside one but I want to take you somewhere since it's been so long since you've been out here." Otto explained.

Mandarin blinked and thought on it. Well, it wouldn't hurt too much, despite the many people that gave fearful glances at him and a lot more cowering in fear at the sight of him. However if Otto was there it would be less awkward.

"I guess it's fine, but won't the others know we're gone?" He asked.

Otto flung his arm a bit.

"Nah we'll be back in time. C'mon their dinner menu is just starting!" He said, running off and having Mandarin follow him.

Behind a shooting ring, Gibson was fuming. He refused to have someone as temperamental and unpleasant as Mandarin date his brother! He just couldn't deal with that monkey ruining his innocence! He just couldn't!

"If you do anything to him Mandarin I swear-!"

"Why am I here?" Trent asked, uncomfortable with following them

"Because I need someone to be my alibi."

"We don't even know if they're dating! They might just be hanging out!" Trent said.

Gibson gripped the edge of the wooden plank.

"They're not dating now, I know that." Gibson sighed. "But I can see how Otto looks at him, how the two act around each other, how close they are. They even slept in the same bed together. They're going down the same path as Willow and Antauri, faster even!" He continued.

He looked down.

"I just...I just don't want Mandarin hurting him. Otto is my brother and I don't want his heart broken."

Trent stared for a minute.

"You sound more like his father than his friend."

Gibson closed his eyes and sighed.

"I know I do...but I can't help it."

Trent sighed.

"I don't think it's right to control his relationships, Otto can fall in love with whoever he wants."

Gibson nodded, biting his lip.

"However if you're still so hopped up on following him and seeing what happens I guess it's fine. I mean it would be kinda interesting." Trent said, smirking a bit.

Gibson glanced at him before looking ahead. Just in case anything happened...

"Let's hurry."

* * *

Willow's emotions were in a tizzy as she walked side by side with Antauri. She didn't really know what to say to him at this point, it felt they were more on a date than an actual trip to the bookstore. Which was kind of silly since she was talking to him just fine before.

"So I take it you're enjoying the festivities?" Antauri finally asked.

Willow looked at him and nodded.

"Y-yeah it's kind of nice." She muttered.

Antauri nodded.

"I personally prefer something a bit more quiet but I do enjoy events like this too." He said.

Willow nodded then thought of something.

"So Antauri, I was thinking of something. What do you think you'll look like if you were a human?" Willow asked, trying to sound casual.

Antauri placed a hand on his chin.

"I have never thought of that to be perfectly honest, nor did I have any interest in it."

Willow's head kind of dipped a bit.

"However I don't see why that wouldn't be an interesting exploration." Antauri pointed out.

Willow glanced up.

"Then what do you think you'd look like?" She asked.

Antauri tilted his head.

"I'm not sure, the possibilities are endless after all."

Willow nodded.

"What do you think?" He asked.

Willow's face turned a bright red.

From behind some bushes, Amanda snickered.

"Well,answer him Willow." She muttered.

Willow continued to blush.

"Erm I'm guessing you with a ponytail or something." She muttered.

Antauri nodded, interested.

"Dark skin...s-steel blue eyes...uniform like Chiro's..." Willow went on.

"Muscled, handsome, and is just as amazing on the outside as you are on the inside." Willow thought, hoping to God that Antauri wasn't listening in.

Antauri nodded.

"That is an interesting look at it. Maybe we should ask everyone else on what they would think. It might be fun." He said.

Willow nodded and smiled.

Amanda and Sprx giggled hard while Chiro was generally confused.

"I don't get it, it does sound like fun." He said.

"Kid, just look at how they act around each other! It's so obvious they like each other!" Sprx snickered.

Chiro looked at him to Willow and Antauri. He chuckled.

They kinda are.

* * *

Otto sat down at the table outside while Mandarin awkwardly sat down in front of him, not even using the chair. The restaurant itself wasn't super busy because of the celebration, but the people that are there quickly headed inside and stared fearfully outside.

Otto quickly grabbed the menu and looked through it, his eyes locked on the hamburgers.

"So what do you want?" Otto asked.

Mandarin looked up and looked over.

"Huh? Oh hold on." He said before looking through the menu, using one finger to flip the pages.

Everyone was inside and petrified with fear.

"Alize go out there and take their order!" The manager quietly snapped.

"Wha-why me?!"

"Because Otto of the Hyperforce is out there and someone has to go out there and take his order!"

"But the original Mandarin is out there!"

"Yes but he doesn't look like he's harming anyone and if Otto is there then maybe it's fine." Another person pointed out.

Alize shook before she felt her manager push her out.

"Go!" She said before slamming and locking the door, despite the poor girl banging on the door.

She stopped and looked over to the two, who were quietly conversing.

She slowly walked over to them, her hands shaking.

"Erm h-hello, w-what drinks would you l-like this evening?" She asked, trying to not look like she's terrified.

Otto looked up.

"I want a Star Breath soda please!" He chirped.

The waitress nodded, then she had to face the inevitable as she slowly turned to Mandarin, who looked over the menu. He awkwardly looked up, clearly nervous.

"Water." He simply said.

Otto frowned.

"Wait! You sure? Because we can always put in milk too!"

Mandarin looked at him.

"Otto please that won't be necessary." He said.

"It's fine, you need the calcium!"

"But I don't want to have you pay for so much." Mandarin argued.

Otto reached over and touched his hand.

"Don't worry about it, I got this. Besides we usually get food here for free...is that okay though?" He asked the waitress nervously.

Not wanting to anger Mandarin, Alize quickly nodded.

"Oh sure i-it's fine." She said.

Otto turned to Mandarin and smiled.

"See? So have as much as you need." He chirped.

Mandarin looked at him then looked back down, not really in sheer awkwardness but at his stomach. It's all for his child.

"Then I guess it's fine." He sighed.

Alize scribbled on the pad quickly. She then shakily nodded.

"I-I'll be right back with them." She said before beginning to go back inside.

Otto stood on his chair.

"You don't have to be afraid of him! He's more scared of you than you are of him!" He yelled.

Alize stopped.

"That is untrue!" Mandarin huffed.

"He's may be a big awkward jerk butt at first but he's really sweet!" Otto continued.

"No I am not!"

Otto leaned back.

"And he is a super cutie!" He squealed.

Mandarin's face turned a bright red and he hid himself.

"Veran please!"

Alize turned back and looked at the two. She felt her nerves calming down before nodding and going back inside. She then collapsed to the floor, letting out a huge yell of relief as everyone clapped for her.

Gibson watched all of this from nearby.

"He called Mandarin cute, Gibson." Trent pipes up.

"I know shh!"

* * *

Willow looked through the books, her mind racing through the information. She was having a hard time picking a specific book.

Antauri was nearby, reading through the philosophy books.

Chiro, Sprx, and Amanda were in a few aisles away from them.

"This is boring!" Amanda groaned.

"Well what'd you expect? We're in a bookstore." Sprx huffed.

Chiro bit his lip, he didn't like this. He didn't like spying on them like this. As much as he loves a good prank, spying on someone's date isn't settling well with him.

"Maybe we should...spice it up? Maybe get them both to the romance section or...?"

Amanda shrugged.

"Maybe but how are we gonna do that?" She said.

Sprx thought on it.

"Hmm true, what do you think we should do kid? Kid?"

Chiro was talking to Willow, saying how he wanted to pick up a book for Jinmay or some lame excuse.

The two spies fell to the floor in shock.

"What is he doing?!" Amanda whispered.

Willow didn't seem pissed, in fact she seems happy to see him.

"So what book do you need?" She asked.

"She wanted to pick up some sort of drama but she didn't give me the title." Chiro sighed.

Willow laughed.

"Well good luck with that because I don't know how to find one, besides you should get back to the party. Me and Antauri will be back soon." She said.

Chiro nodded, completely outing himself of this whole spying thing.

"Alright you two have fun." He said before leaving.

Amanda and Sprx were speechless.

"He just bailed on us!" Sprx huffed.

Amanda shook her head.

"No matter! We can still get through this! With or without him." She said.

"Now...how are we going to spice this up?" She wondered.

Sprx shrugged.

Antauri floated over to Willow, a book in hand.

"Willow I think you would like this. It's over star demons and the history of them." Antauri said.

Willow's eyes lit up as she looked through it.

"It's really interesting! You want to pick these up and get back to the party?" She asked.

Antauri nodded.

"Sounds good to me." He said before the two went to the checkout counter.

Sprx and Amanda looked at each other before following them. They must keep this up!

* * *

"How is your pasta?" Otto asked.

Mandarin swallowed.

"It's actually not that terrible." He said.

Otto smiled.

"That's good!"

Mandarin looked ahead and saw the tip of Gibson's helmet and rolled his eyes. Gibson is a terrible spy.

"I think we have some...spies." He whispered to Otto.

Otto got concerned and began to look around but Mandarin shushed him.

"It's Gibson."

Otto frowned, confused.

"Why is Gibson spying on us?" He asked quietly.

Mandarin shrugged.

"Not sure, but let's just let it go for now. I'm sure he doesn't mean any harm." Mandarin chirped before continuing to eat.

Otto blinked but nodded.

"O...okay." He said before continuing to chomp on his burger.

Otto then thought of something. Mandarin looked kinda lonely over there...

Otto smiled and moved his plate and cup over and scooted right next to Mandarin, which made Gibson nearly explode.

"What are you doing?"

"You looked like you needed someone to sit next to!" Otto cooed.

Gibson growled, pissed at the fact that Mandarin was now much closer to Otto now!

"Dude calm down or we'll get seen!" Trent whispered.

Otto snuggled up next to him.

"So after this we can go back to the party and see if we won any raffles." Otto chirped.

Mandarin rolled his eyes.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, those are really hard to win." He sighed.

Otto bopped his nose with his tail.

"You need to be more positive."

"I'm being realistic Otto."

Otto stuck his tongue out and continued to drink his soda. Everyone continued to watch from the inside, their fear dissipating slowly as they keep watching.  
Mandarin wasn't harming anyone or doing anything particularly evil...that and Otto was so close to him. So maybe he really has turned good. They also noticed his belly was larger than before...but they really didn't want to say anything to trigger his wrath.

Gibson and Trent kept watching. Gibson was beginning to feel different than before. Mandarin didn't seem to do anything at all to Otto that would piss him fact he seemed to treat Otto really nicely. That and Otto just looked so happy being next to him. Gibson smiled, perhaps for once he was wrong.

Otto hopped up.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom real quick." He said before going inside.

"Alright."  
Mandarin looked around before looking at the bush where Gibson and Trent were hiding at.

Gibson turned to Trent.

"We should probably go back." He said.

"Why? This is getting good." Trent said looking at him.

"Well they probably want some alone time anyway. That and Chiro would begin to question where we were." Gibson sighed.

"Oh no stay, I'm sure Chiro wouldn't mind."

The two looked up and screamed when they saw Mandarin smirking at them.

* * *

"We're sorry!" Trent whined as the two sat at the table.

Mandarin rolled his eyes.

"Please I'm not going to do anything. Do you realize the trouble I would get in if I even laid a finger on you?"

Gibson and Trent looked at each other. That was true...

"Wait how did you find out we were here?" Trent asked.

"I saw Gibson's helmet from here." Mandarin said before sipping his milk.

Gibson groaned, crap of course he would see him! He's ten feet tall!

Mandarin shook his head, smirking.

"I swear when I saw you two it was like..." He held a hand to his mouth as he starting snickering.

"It was like you two were middle school children so invested on who had a crush on who!" He said before laughing.

Trent frowned while Gibson was just confused.

"It's not funny."

"It is to me!" Mandarin snickered before calming down.

Gibson tilted his head a bit.

"So you're not mad?" He asked.

Mandarin picked up his water.

"Not really no, should I?" He asked, and eyebrow raised.

This caused the two to shake their heads quickly.

"No no no no no it's fine!" Gibson wheezed.

Mandarin snickered.

"I only jest. Anyway I don't see why I should be mad, I mean you two were possibly just curious or concerned." Mandarin said before sipping his water.

Trent and Gibson looked at each other. It looks like they're off the hook.

"Otto and I are almost done here anyway. We'll be back over at the celebration soon."

The two nodded and the door opened behind them. Otto stood there for a second before putting a hand on his cheek.

"Wha-?! Gibson and Trent?! What are you doing here?!" He asked, trying to sound surprised.

Mandarin waved a hand.

"Otto they have already been caught." He said.

Otto slumped a bit.

"Oh." He said.

He ran up to the others and the two finished their meal before leaving. Gibson looked down and then at the two. Otto wanted to crawl into Mandarin's shoulder but he was protesting.

He smiled a bit.

"I guess I can trust you with Otto...but don't push it!" He thought.

Meanwhile, Amanda and Sprx panted, they lost Willow and Antauri a while now and they couldn't find the two anywhere.

"You think we should have teamed up with Chiro and left?" Amanda asked.

Sprx sighed.

"I have no idea, I think this spying plan was a complete failure." He said.

"What spying plan?"

They quickly turned to see Antauri and Willow.

Antauri frowned slightly.

"Why were you spying on us?" He asked.

With Antauri they knew they would just get scolded at, but when they looked at Willow she had a red aura around her. The two gulped, they were dead.

"Scatter!" Amanda yelled and the two bolted for the celebration.

Antauri blinked.

"Wait a second!" He called out but Willow was already ahead of him, murder in her eyes.

He closed his eyes and sighed, not again.

* * *

Jinmay, Nova, Chiro, and Arwen were all hanging out near the stage, watching people sing as they enjoyed themselves.

Nova then saw Gibson, Trent, Mandarin, and Otto join them.

"Hey where were you guys?" She asked with a smile.

"At dinner." Otto said, hopping off Mandarin's shoulder.

"How was that?" Jinmay asked.

"It was great, I mean these two came later." Mandarin motioned to Gibson and Trent.

Jinmay nodded.

"Well we should find Willow and Antauri, the raffle prize winning will be coming up and I'm sure they'd like to be apart of it." Chiro said.

Everyone agreed and everyone jumped when they heard Amanda yell and hide behind Arwen.

"Mommy save me! Willow's gone crazy again!" She whined.

Arwen sighed.

"Oh no, what'd you do now?" She asked as Sprx hid himself in a trash can.

Willow stomped over, while Antauri tried to console her.

"You two are so dead!" She growled, face red.

When she was about to beat the hell out of Sprx and Amanda she was picked up by Mandarin.

"Hey!"

"Calm yourself, you don't need to resort to violence." He sighed.

Everyone froze slightly.  
Willow tried really hard to wriggle out of his grasp.

Chiro laughed nervously.

"Come on Mandarin you don't have to do that."

Mandarin frowned.

"Oh and if I did this would you react the same way?" He asked.

"Well no but-"

"They spied on me and Antauri." Willow huffed.

Mandarin looked at her.

"And what they did was wrong too but you cannot hit them over it. Two wrongs don't make a right." He sighed.

Willow glared at him, which normally would send shivers down a person's spine but Mandarin only sighed.

"I'll only let you down if you won't hurt them." He said.

Willow thought it over but sighed.

"Fine, but I don't see you not doing the same thing if you were in my position." She huffed.

Oh honey you have no idea.

Then he placed her down and she glared at Amanda.

"Amanda what do you say?" Arwen asked.

"Sorry for spying on you." Amanda grumbled.

Her mom sighed.

"Well now that excitements over, let's have some more fun!" She said as nearly everyone agreed.

Mandarin sat down as the Hyperforce got onto the stage to announce the winners. Otto went over to him and patted his head.

"You're doing good." He chirped before joining everyone else.

The citizens cheered as the Hyperforce came onto the stage.  
However there were quite a few citizens that were iffy on Mandarin being there.

Chiro looked around.

"Everyone! I know it's still a hard time getting use to him being around. But I swear he won't harm anyone."

"Anyone good." Mandarin piped up.

Chiro sighed.

"Anyone good. Even though the clone is at large we will find him and finish this once and for all!" He declared, causing everyone to cheer.

Mandarin continued to watch them.

"Any questions before we get started?" Nova asked.

A few hands went up.

"So uh he's pregnant with a Tabithian right? If that's the case then how did it all happen? What about the parents?" One citizen asked.

Everyone tensed up.

"U-uh that's a bit of a long story..." Chiro muttered.

Gibson looked at Mandarin, wanting him to come up.

"I am not getting up, just make it short and simple." Mandarin told them.

Gibson nodded.

"For now let's just say he's doing a favor for a family that's...gone through a tragedy." Gibson said.

Everyone then started talking quietly as Mandarin gripped the wood of the stage a bit. Arwen looked at him and realized what happened.

"Oh...the parents?" She asked and Mandarin nodded slightly.

Arwen placed her hand on his arm, feeling terrible for him.

The citizens wanted to ask more but felt that it would be best to just keep it quiet for now.

"Anything other questions?" Chiro asked.

No one else seemed to raise their hand after that.

He smiled.

"Then let's get started!"

* * *

Soon after the festivities were over and everyone trudged off to bed, with Otto bringing home one of the prizes which was an array of gift cards. Willow yawned and was about to go to her room when she saw Antauri come up to her.

"I hope you had a nice time at the celebration tonight." He said.

Willow nodded.

"Yeah it was fun." She said.

Antauri then pulled out a fantasy book and handed it to her. There were images of castles, dragons, elves and all sorts of other creatures.

"I figured since you love magic so much you would like this." He said, hiding the growing blush on his face.

Willow was speechless as she took the present.

"Thank you.." She said.

She looked through the pages and smiled.

"This looks really cool." She said.

Antauri nodded.

"I'm glad you like it. Goodnight to you." He said going to his room.

Willow stepped forward, holding the book to her chest. She wanted to talk to him more but he was already in his room.

She sighed and looked at the book again. Willow then remembered, this title had a lot of romance in it! She looked at Antauri's room.

What did this mean?

* * *

Dates upon dates and crap! Ah, at least they didn't have to think of Skelemandarin for a while. Thanks for reading!


	15. Chapter 15

Nope this isn't an April Fools joke! This is another update, this time with feels! Yaaaaay! Anywho please enjoy.

* * *

Yet another peaceful month has passed and the weather was starting to get colder. Fall really was beginning to set in it seemed. The underground base was coming along nicely, now with three rooms, the nursery, one bedroom, and a large bathroom. However the search for Skelemandarin was growing hard as formless began to scatter the jungle, attacking anyone who comes near it. What the Hyperforce learned was that the formless didn't seem to want to go to the city and attack it, but rather would protect the jungle zone.

No doubt it, Skelemandarin was in there somewhere. He didn't seem to be doing anything yet, but they know he will be coming soon.

Mandarin tried to sneak into Gibson's lab every so often to look over the blood samples, but he would be caught halfway through getting there or was distracted by everything else. This was getting irritating, that and having to deal with the 'fun' parts of being pregnant was really starting to piss him off.

Sprx yawned as he walked into the kitchen.

"Wow I didn't sleep that good last night, I must've gotten like six hours of sleep or something." He sighed.

Everyone tensed up as Mandarin turned to him, dark circles under his eyes.

"Oh really? Because I haven't gotten any sleep. For the past few days!" He growled, nearly bending the table because of his grip.

Sprx put his hands up.

"L-look I didn't mean anything by that I was ju-just saying!" He laughed nervously.

"Do you know what it's like to have something banging against your abdomen each night and then having to go the bathroom seven times a night and feeling like someone made you swallow a bolder and now it's sitting on your intestines?" Mandarin asked.

Sprx shook.

"I-I mean-"

"No? Then you don't get to complain about losing sleep." He snarled.

Sprx shook, forehead sweating.

He edged to the table before laying his head down.

"Don't put your head down." Mandarin sighed, causing Sprx to immediately raise his head back up.

Otto then scooted over to Mandarin and snuggled him. Whenever something like this happened, he would usually go over and snuggle with him to calm him down.

Otto's then crawled up on him.

"Otto no, Otto no I'm angry!" Mandarin protested but Otto was already snuggled up with him and nuzzled his head.

"Are you angry now?" Otto asked.

Mandarin paused then side glanced him, his eyes softening.

"Hush." He huffed, causing Otto to snicker.

Everyone sighed. Leave it to Otto to save the day.

Afterwards Mandarin trudged to his room to try to get some sleep before he fell apart, however he found Trent on his bed. He had his knees to his chest and he was staring at the blankets.

"Why are you on my bed?" He questioned.

Trent looked up at him.

"O-oh I'm sorry I didn't think you'd be back so quick." He said.

Mandarin yawned.

"You didn't come to breakfast either." He pointed out.

Trent laughed nervously.

"I'm sorry it's just..." He bit his lip.

"Do you ever get the feeling that something bad is going to happen?" He finally asked.

Mandarin froze.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

Trent drew his knees in closer.

"I mean I just get this weird feeling in my stomach that something's going to happen and it's going to be terrible." He muttered.

Mandarin stared for a second.

"Trust your intuition, now get out of my bed." Mandarin ordered before picking him up, setting him on the floor, and laying in his bed.

"B-but!"

"Trust your intuition. If you truly feel that something terrible might happen, then trust it and be on guard. Besides we don't know where or when my clone will strike again." He said.

Trent shakily nodded.

"And don't mull over it either, it will only deteriorate your health."

Trent nodded again, he was right. Right now he needed food and company.

"Alright...thank you." He said before leaving the room.

Mandarin watched him go and sighed. He hated to admit it, but he felt the same way. Something was going to happen...and he felt he wouldn't like the outcome very much. He didn't need this stress right 's not good for him or the Tabithian, which then began to move again.

He rubbed his stomach, the maternal feelings prickling him. The moments between him and the child became less and less brief as time went on. Sometimes this experience would go for a few hours or so and this wasn't an exception.

"Please let me sleep, just for a little while." Mandarin said softly.

He didn't expect a response since fetuses were incapable of doing such things, but having it kick anyway was sort of comforting.

And yet still so weird!

Mandarin sighed as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

Chiro looked at the scanners again, nothing! He sighed, why was he hiding again? Shouldn't he at least bring his formless into the city and have them cause destruction? What is Skelemandarin up to? He felt Antauri put a hand on his shoulder.

"I understand you're frustrated Chiro, but we can't look at the scanners all day. There is still much to do." Antauri said.

Chiro paused before nodding, agreeing.

"Yeah, like picking out wall colors!" Otto said, holding up pallets.

Chiro raised an eyebrow as he went to the others.

"Shouldn't Mandarin be picking out colors?" He asked.

"He's tired so we should let him get some rest." Willow said.

"The kid is already doing a number on him. Not even getting one hour of sleep." Nova sighed.

Chiro nodded and looked at the colors.

"So what should we pick for the living room?"

Sprx thought it over.

"Maybe a dark and gloomy color, that would match his personality." He said.

"I know Mandarin, and he would want an earthy color for the living room." Otto said.

"You know we should ask him this when he gets up." Trent said.

"What he got to pick the colors for every other room!"

They then heard a knock on the door. They all turned to the screen to find out who was knocking. It was a light blue humanoid like alien, with hair that looked likely was apart of his skin as it matched with the same color. They could even see a bit of that hair from behind his head.,He had two slits for a nose on his face and dark green eyes. He was wearing some sort of purple suit with a blue tie and had a backpack with him and a clipboard.

"Gods I hope I got the address right...I mean he could be living in the house over there for all I know!" He huffed.

The others looked at each other as Chiro went up to the control panel and took out the mic.

"Uh hello?"

The alien looked up and smiled.

"Hello is Mandarin here?" He asked.

Everyone looked at each other again.

"Uh yes he is? Who are you?"

The alien raised a card.

"I'm Tilamat Alenz, I'm Mandarin's obstetrician. Is it alright if I stopped by?"

Chiro turned to the others.

"I know I didn't make any calls before hand but I just got a break from my other patient and I don't know how much time I would have until I have to go back to her."

Antauri nodded.

Chiro activated the doors and they opened for Tilamat.

"Come on in." He said.

Tilamat nodded before entering.

Tilamat then came from one of the tubes and walked backwards, not used to how they operate, before nearly falling. He turned to everyone.

"Again I'm sorry for not calling." He said.

Antauri smiled.

"No it's alright, unfortunately he's asleep right now so I hope it's alright if you wait until he wakes up ." He said.

Tilamat shook his head and sat down.

"Oh no it's perfectly fine I can wait. I understand the baby might be keeping him up some nights. I saw he took his supplements and is eating more sugars. That's good." He said, pulling out a laptop.

"Yeah I caught him in the middle of the night snacking on pickles and doughnuts. And HE was the one judging me." Amanda said, pointing at herself.

Tilamat snickered.

"Well cravings will do that to you." He laughed.

Arwen snickered, knowing how those felt.

"Still he and the baby seem to be doing really good. To be honest I have to thank all of you on that." Tilamat said smiling.

Everyone grew confused.

"Us?" Sprx asked,

Tilamat nodded and looked at his laptop.

"Yeah when I first started watching his progress he was always so sad. Like something always bothered him and I was worried for him. Now he's actually happier and that's good both for him and the baby. I can't thank any of you enough." He said, looking back at the others.

Everyone was silent. They...they had no idea Mandarin was so unhappy before he stayed here. They knew he had a bad attitude back then but they didn't know how sad he was.

"Do you know why he was feeling that way?" Antauri asked.

"No, I never asked him." Tilamat sighed.

However...he did . He knew why Mandarin was so upset but Tilamat figured that Mandarin was over it by now.

They all were silent.

"So! When he gets up I'm gonna talk to him for a while and do some things and then I'll be off!" Tilamat chirped.

"You have to leave so quickly?" Arwen asked.

Tilamat shrugged.

"I don't know how long I have before I have to go back to my other patient. She's really fussy." He sighed.

Everyone understood and they continued to work. However not before Otto went up to him.

"You need anything?" He asked.

Tilamat shook his head.

"I'm fine thank you." He said before turning on his laptop.

"What's that?" Otto asked, pointing at the laptop.

Tilamat looked up.

"Oh this is what we use to check up on the baby. Sometimes the patient will be far away and we use this. We use nanobots to check on them instead of an regular ultrasound." He said.

Otto nodded and looked at it closely.

"Can you tell the baby's gender on it?" He asked.

"Sure can! But let's wait until Mandarin wakes up before we find out." He said.

Otto nodded and went back to the others.

Willow turned to Trent, who was surprisingly not very talkative. She began to wonder what was on his mind.

* * *

Nearly two hours later Mandarin came into the room, still looking a bit tired.

"Morning sleepy." Nova greeted.

Mandarin only stared at her before noticing Tilamat. He grew confused.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, his tired mind trying to wrap around this.

Tilamat got up and smiled.

"I'm here to check on you."

"Here?"

Tilamat nodded.

"I got a quick break, now c'mon." He said, grabbing Mandarin's arm.

"I just woke up!" Mandarin whined.

"I know and you can go back to sleep after I'm done!"

Everyone turned to each other and silently followed but Tilamat looked back and shook his head.

They would have to wait a while, but Willow snuck away turning invisible.

Mandarin yawned as Tilamat sat next to him.

"Please tell me there's a way to get some sleep despite the constant kicking." Mandarin sighed.

"There is don't worry, I suggest not using medications though." Tilamat chirped.

Mandarin held his head up with his hands, waiting for suggestions.

"I'd turn down the room temperature at night or just make your bed more comfy to sleep in. Maybe a relaxing shower might help." Tilamat went on.

"If you keep talking I'm going to need a notepad." Mandarin snickered.

Tilamat snickered too.

"Don't worry I'll give you a list. Anyway I'm pretty impressed. You're gaining the proper weight, you're doing everything you're supposed to, and your overall mental state has improved amazingly!" He complimented.

Mandarin looked to the side.

"Please..."

"I was actually kind of worried about you for a while."

Mandarin looked to him as Tilamat looked down at his laptop.

"You were so depressed before, and even though the Hyperforce was a better place for you I didn't know how it would improve you emotionally. I know you wanted to leave so bad but I rarely hear you wanting to leave anymore." He explained.

Mandarin flinched.

That was true, he didn't even think about leaving after he told the Hyperforce about his pregnancy. Despite the elephant in the room, he still felt happier which was surprising to him. Willow watched from afar, not saying anything.

"So I'm really proud of you. You're doing really well despite all the stress you have to deal with, especially the clone problem." Tilamat said looking at him.

Mandarin sighed.

"Don't remind me, I still fear what he might do."

Tilamat nodded and paused.

"So uh...have you talked to them about...how you felt about them months ago?" He asked.

Mandarin shook his head.

"No, I don't want to bring it up. I don't need to have them deny it." He sighed.

Willow frowned, what feelings?

"It might be good to bring some closure. You still have a bit of that resentment and frustration bottled up and it would be good to let that out to them. I don't expect it to go over without any yelling but still it might be helpful." Tilamat explained.

Mandarin gripped his knees and looked down.

"I don't know...I don't want them to deny what they did was wrong."

Tilamat shrugged.

"Just something to think about. If you don't want to talk to all of them about it maybe talk to someone you trust?" He suggested.

Mandarin paused.

"That may be a possibility."

Tilamat nodded.

"You don't have to do it now but it might help."

Mandarin bit his lip. Tilamat patted his shoulder.

"Anyway! I think we should move on because I found out about this while you were sleeping." Tilamat said, tapping the keys.

Mandarin turned to him, intrigued. Tilamat continued to tap until his eyes lit up.

"Okay! Well...I hope you don't mind having a daughter."

Mandarin paused, soaking the information in before he snickered.

"No I really don't." He said, happiness filling him.

Tilamat slammed his hand on the seat they were sitting on.

"Good because that's what you're getting!" He declared, causing the two of them to laugh.

Willow smiled, happy that he was having a girl.

"What was that about?!" Mandarin asked.

Tilamat tried to talk in between laughter.

"It's a thing I do! Whenever someone asks the baby's gender I usually go with that but sometimes I would ask, 'hey do you mind having a son?' and if they say yeah I go, 'well you're getting a daughter so uh'." Tilamat shrugged.

"You don't really do that last part!" Mandarin said, shocked.

"No I don't! I could, but I'd get in trouble!"

The two calmed down after that and Tilamat sighed.

"But yeah that may change due to us Tabithians being able to change sexes. That isn't a problem is it?" He asked.

Mandarin leaned forward a bit.

"No of course it isn't, I'd be happy with whatever gender she identifies with." He said.

"Good because I would have hit you." Tilamat joked, causing Mandarin to snicker.

"Not but that's really good. I've seen so many Tabithian parents say they don't care about the sex and when their kid changes gender they turn really nasty and it's so disgusting! My parents never did that with me." Tilamat sighed, shaking his head.

Mandarin sat back, hand on his stomach.

"Well you don't have to worry about that with me. Shuggazoom is an overall much more tolerant planet of these sort of things and I'd never want them to feel unwanted because of what they identify as." Mandarin said.

Tilamat smiled.

"It kinda makes me want to move here." He said.

Mandarin shrugged.

"You could, I mean the citizens would get a bit nervous over a Tabithian being here but I don't think they'd mind." He said.

"Nah I would like to but my superiors want me to be in specific places." Tilamat sighed.

"That's unfortunate, but oh well."

The two were silent before Mandarin sensed Willow. He looked over at where she was hiding and waved.

"Hi Willow." He greeted, smirking.

Willow fell to the floor and turned visible.

"How?!" She asked.

"Just because you can turn invisible doesn't mean I can't sense your energy. I was too distracted the first time you tried this." Mandarin pointed out.

Willow blinked, mouth open.

Tilamat closed his laptop.

"I'm sorry I just got too curious." She apologized.

Tilamat waved his hand.

"Aw well that's fine. I just didn't want butt to get all nervous and whatever." He said pointing to Mandarin.

"Hey."

Tilamat then got up.

"Besides I'm pretty much done here. I need to hurry back." He said.

"So soon?"

Tilamat shrugged.

"Hey might as well. I'll give you a list of sleep tactics and other suggestions." He said as Mandarin struggled to get up a bit.

"Sounds fine, now I need to sleep again." He sighed.

"Oh no! The others have been arguing over what the rooms in the base will look like and you need to help!" Willow snapped.

Mandarin groaned.

"Fine, only if it will shut everyone up." He huffed, the thought of speaking to everyone about his overall thoughts still clung to the back of his head.

Willow nodded and left, having the two follow her.

Tilamat soon left after that, thanking everyone for their kindness.

Mandarin went over to the others.

"Okay I'm here, here to get through all the stupid stuff." Mandarin huffed, sitting down.

"Good." Sprx sighed.

Chiro sighed.

"Okay so, living room colors." He said to Mandarin.

Mandarin thought for a bit.

"Burgundy red." He said.

Otto smirked at Sprx, who rolled his eyes.

"It's not even a earthy color Otto..." He sighed.

"Still!"

Willow sat back, thinking about the conversation between Mandarin and Tilamat. Especially about Mandarin's closure issue. She felt that he should talk to them about it, and soon.

Afterwards Mandarin began to go back down as everyone went off to do their own thing. Willow ran up to him before he made it to the tube.

"Wait!"

Mandarin turned to her.

Willow side glanced before speaking again.

"When do you want to talk about that uh...closure thing Tilamat was talking about?" She asked.

Mandarin blinked before looking at the others.

"Does it have to be right now?" He questioned.

Willow looked back at them then turned back.

"No, but maybe later tonight?"

Mandarin sighed, loudly.

"Look Tilamat said it might help you and I think it's a good idea. So just try it?"

Mandarin paused before sighing again.

"I could, but don't blame me if things turn ugly." He said before going down.

That statement sent butterflies into Willow's stomach. What did he mean by that?

* * *

Later that night after dinner and training, everyone minus Mandarin was watching a movie.

"Otto can you try to get Mandarin up here?" Nova asked.

Otto nodded and quickly ran to the transportation tube.

"He didn't tell us what gender the kid is." Sprx said.

"He probably doesn't want us to get all crazy over it or something." Chiro sighed.

"True but it would still be nice to know." Gibson said.

Antauri nodded.

"He'll tell us soon don't worry." He said.

Willow did her best to not break down and tell everyone it's a girl but she had to keep quiet.

"Otto no!" Mandarin griped as Otto pulled on his hand.

"It's just one movie! And it's halfway over!" Otto huffed.

Mandarin groaned as Otto pulled him to the others.

"Come on, it's time to stop being Mr. Anti Social and join us." Otto said plopping down on the floor.

Mandarin grumbled before sitting down. Otto then crawled up next to him and snuggled him.

Mandarin then thought of what Willow said earlier. He could do it now but...  
 _  
"Carmichael! Do you understand the pain I went through because of what you did or shall I say didn't do?!"_

 _"Stella we did everything we could with you but we thought we lost you forever!"_

 _"Everything?! You call that everything?!"_

Mandarin growled lightly, causing everyone to look at him. He blinked.

"Sorry just thinking." He said before everyone watched the movie again.  
 _  
"Stella what do you want me to say? That I didn't try?! That I didn't care enough?!"  
_  
The woman on the screen got up from her seat.

 _"No...you didn't do enough to save me."_ She said before leaving the bewildered man.

"This movie is so stupid. He did so much to save this dumb chick." Sprx huffed.

Mandarin sniffed.

"Then again, if he just actually tried harder maybe whatever situation she's in wouldn't have happened." He huffed.

"Well if the chick would have just not lashed out like she did-."

"Maybe if he wouldn't have given up so easily-!"

Sprx turned to him.

"Okay what the heck is wrong? You never get this upset over a movie. Is it the mood swings or something?" He asked, having Willow push him.

Mandarin glared at him, his eyes like daggers.

"No it's not actually."

"Then what's wrong?" Otto asked.

Mandarin gritted his teeth but sighed, if he had to do this it'd be now.

"Well this movie got me thinking of something that I...presumably got upset about years ago and some of that still carries on today but less than before because I am less angry with you." Mandarin said before shrugging.

The Hyperforce looked at each other.

"What about?" Nova asked, not really liking where this was going.

Mandarin side glanced before looking back at them. Then he sighed again, he didn't want to talk about this now since the mood was so nice previously but there was no turning back.

"Well what that woman said about not doing enough to save her might have some prevalence on how I felt when you banished me."

Everyone was silent before Sprx sighed harshly.

"Tell me you don't mean when we tried to use the Power Primate to get the evil out of you right?" He huffed.

Mandarin held up his hands.

"It's not like I'm that bitter about it, I mean I still am but on a less intense scale than before." He said as Nova stood up.

"What are you talking about?! Mandarin we did everything we could to try to bring you back!"

Mandarin glared, anger bubbling inside him.

"Really? Do you call those 'anger management solutions' and 'stress relievers' and 'let's just blast him with a huge amount of Power Primate and if he's still evil we just give up' everything you could?" He huffed.

Sprx put his hands in his face.

"Oh my god.."

Antauri frowned while Chiro, Jinmay, Trent, Willow, and Amanda could only look on in confusion.

"We thought that was it for you Mandarin. We thought your corruption was something the Power Primate couldn't fix and when you lunged at us what were we supposed to do?" He asked sternly.

"I still felt I could have been saved, you could have just tried again!" Mandarin argued.

"So what, we didn't try hard enough?!" Nova demanded.

Otto sunk back in his seat.

"Mandarin we even tried to stage an intervention in order to help you but you brushed that off pretty quickly!" Gibson pointed out.

"What intervention?! You mean that confrontation before you tried to blast the evil out of me?!"

"You guys..."

"Yes! Mandarin what the hell did you think we were trying to do?! Just doing everything half assed?!" Sprx yelled.

"Sprx!" Chiro warned, but everyone seemed to ignore him.

Willow looked between the two groups. She began to wonder if this was a good idea.

Mandarin crossed his arms.

"Well I think it could have been done much better to be completely honest. When you gave up on me I thought none of you cared-"

"Don't you even dare finish that sentence! We did care! We cared a lot about bringing you back! Did you realize how heart breaking it was to imprison you? Otto cried for hours after you left!" Gibson yelled.

He felt like crying now, he didn't want this. Otto just wanted everyone to enjoy a movie together and forget the past...

"So don't you dare think we didn't care! We tried everything to save you-!"

"Really?! It never felt like that to me!"

"Well then maybe you should-!"

Chiro stood up.

"Alright that's enough! All of you need to calm down." He ordered.

Nova looked down, glaring at the floor while the others looked off in different directions. Otto didn't know who to comfort and just stood there.

Mandarin clenched his fists, he knew this would happen. Why did he even bother trying?

"Now I get that what happened back then was terrible and there are a lot of hurt feelings. But we can't scream at each other over it because it solves nothing!" Chiro said.

Mandarin turned and walked away.

"Wait Mandarin!" Chiro called out.

"I'm going to bed. I'm not going to stand here and have you remind me of how much I..." He didn't finish the last part, but huffed before leaving.

"Fine! See if we care!" Sprx growled.

"Sprx." Antauri warned.

Otto stood there while the others began to talk intensely amongst themselves about the situation. He couldn't even hear what they were saying as he stared at the transportation tube he left. Mandarin felt hurt by what happened. He felt genuinely hurt.  
Otto didn't know what to do, on one hand they did their hardest to help him but he also felt that they could try one last time. He just didn't know what side to be on.

While everyone was still talking, Otto ran to the tube. He had to make this right between them, he had to make the tensions between his family settle for good. He had to.

* * *

Oooh boy! That's not good, but it was something I wanted to put in because I've headcanoned Mandarin being pissed at the team for not 'saving him' or something like that. Well that was a headcanon I began to think of a while ago so ehhhh. Thanks for reading!


	16. Chapter 16

We continue the feels in this chapter! And the Manotto too.

* * *

Mandarin wasn't in the storage room, which caused Otto to panic a bit while he ran down to the unfinished base.

He looked through the unfinished living room and bathroom before looking into the finished room. Mandarin had his back to him, sitting on a larger bed.

Otto could have sworn he saw his shoulders shake slightly but he crept into the room and sat on the bed anyway.

"Mandarin."

Mandarin didn't respond.

Otto looked down.

"I didn't know you were this upset about it." He said.

Mandarin turned to him and Otto was surprised that there were actual tears streaking down his face.

"What?! You had no idea?! This is like my entire outcome!" Mandarin said motioning himself.

"You want to pretend that you did nothing wrong, that I could just be thrown away like a broken toy, that helping me was a big mistake!" He exclaimed, the tears running down faster.

Otto moved closer to him.

"No, no Mandarin. None of that's true!" Otto exclaimed.

"Then why didn't you...?" Mandarin held back a sob and looked away.

Otto clung to him, his head against his stomach.

"I tried to talk to them you know, about trying again. But we thought...we didn't know there was still a chance for you..to..." Otto's lip trembled.

"I'm sorry."

Mandarin looked up and back at him.

"I'm sorry we weren't able to turn you good again, I'm sorry we gave up on you. I'm so sorry." Otto shuddered.

Mandarin blinked.

"I tried to convince them but..." Otto nuzzled him.

"Otto I- I was never extremely mad at you I mean I figured you tried to but..." Mandarin bit his lip.

"I know...but still you can't get mad at us for trying. We tried...we really did and we didn't know there was still a chance to save you. If we knew we'd jump right at the opportunity to get you back. Because we care and love you so much." Otto said.

Mandarin was silent, letting Otto talk.

"But now look, you're back! Even though it was due to...Skeleton King it's still so good to have you back. The real you I mean." Otto sniffled.

Mandarin froze as Otto snuggled him more.

"You're gonna have to talk to the others, uh a bit more calmly this time, and really tell them how you feel. Also try to understand where they're coming from." Otto said.

Mandarin laughed a bit, wiping his wet eyes.

"When did you get so smart?"

Otto snickered before Mandarin thought about it.

"...I'll try, I'll try to." He sighed.

Otto smiled and nuzzled him.

"Good."

Otto kept resting his head against Mandarin's stomach.

"You know I never saw you cry before." Otto pointed out.

Mandarin huffed.

"It's the hormones, shut up."

Otto smirked at him.

"Suuuure it is." He said sarcastically.

Mandarin grumbled but sighed. All that crying did feel pretty good.

Otto stroked his stomach.

"Your poor mommy and his friends are a bunch of wrecks, but that's ok we still love each other." He cooed.

Mandarin glared.

"Otto don't talk to my child like that." He huffed.

"But it's cuuuuute!"

"No, no it's not." Mandarin said before flinching, the baby kicked again.

"Don't agree with him!" He said, poking his stomach.

Otto giggled.

Mandarin sighed but smiled.

"I should have talked to you first. Things might have gone over better." He said.

Otto shrugged.

"Maybe, but I dunno. Antauri would probably be better to talk with about this stuff than me."

"True, but I trust you a bit more." Mandarin said before blushing.

Otto smiled and snuggled closer.

"We should probably go back up." He said, hopping up.

Mandarin sighed and slowly got up.

"Fine, but I don't think it'll go over super well at first." He said.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine."

* * *

Everyone was still in the command centre, still feeling tense and upset. Otto came into the room first before Mandarin slowly trudged behind.

The monkeys looked at him and everyone had mixed reactions. Sprx was pissed but didn't look at Mandarin, Nova didn't even look at anyone at all, Antauri watched Mandarin sit down and sighed, and Gibson looked at Otto worriedly.

"Don't worry I talked to him." Otto whispered before sitting down.

Everyone was silent, it was eery. Willow wanted to get up and go over to Mandarin but she stayed out of the way.

"I talked to Mandarin and told him how sorry I was for not saving him and how we didn't know there was a chance to save him and I told him that he should talk to you guys calmly." Otto explained.

Nova looked up at him, her eyes softening.

"Otto you didn't have to apologize for us." She said.

Then it got quiet again.

Sprx huffed.

"Look we didn't...we didn't know that you could have been-"

"No I shouldn't have gotten so testy...but I still stand with what I said...for the most part." Mandarin grumbled.

"No we should have helped you more, maybe give it one last shot."

Mandarin looked down.

"But you shouldn't have said we didn't try hard enough or that we did everything to help you half assed!" Nova huffed.

"I should really get a swear jar." Antauri sighed.

Mandarin sighed, really didn't feel like arguing anymore.

"I guess that's true...I ap-" Mandarin stopped himself, unable to get the words out.

"I'm so-I'm sor-!"

Why was apologizing so hard?!

Gibson put up a hand.

"We understand what you're trying to say...we're sorry too." He said as everyone nodded slightly.

Mandarin nearly smiled and sighed. That actually went better than he thought. Tilamat was right, this was helpful.

"Well I'm glad this went better than before." He said.

Antauri nodded.

"I feel the same, and I think that we should have better ways of communication. That way no one has anything bottled up and arguments like these won't be as...explosive." He said.

Everyone silently agreed and Otto hopped up.

"Let's continue movie night! Only...with a different movie this time." He said and nearly everyone agreed.

Mandarin stood up.

"I do really need to go to bed, she's going to keep me up all night." He huffed as he turned.

"You're sure?" Chiro asked.

Mandarin nodded, yawning slightly.

"Aww well good ni-wait she?! It's a girl?!" Amanda asked.

Crap.

"Erm...yes."

It did everything in Mandarin's power to pull almost everyone off of him.

* * *

Trent crashed onto his bed, glad the day was over. He placed the covers over him and stared up at the ceiling. Even though things worked out for the monkey team today he still had a bad feeling in his stomach. He gripped the covers.

He didn't like this, he didn't like not knowing what was going to happen that was making him feel this way. Trent bit his lip, he didn't even talk about this with anyone today other than Mandarin. He should and soon. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Hopefully talking about it will make him feel better or just getting this whole thing off his mind will help too.

The next day, Trent peeked into the command centre and found no one there. Mandarin was still sleeping, who actually fell asleep just two hours ago finally.

He looked through the halls and peeked into Antauri's room.

Antauri was cleaning the small water streams in his room, putting the dirt and grime into large bags.

"Good morning Trent." Antauri greeted, not even looking at him.

Trent jumped a bit.

"Oh good morning. I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you." He said.

Antauri looked back at him and smiled.

"You're not, don't worry. What's troubling you?" He asked.

Trent looked around.

"I was wondering where everyone else was." He said.

"Patrolling, shopping, and Otto is getting something for Mandarin. Don't tell him, it's supposed to be a surprise." Antauri said, chuckling.

Trent smiled.

"Well that's nice." He said, entering the room.

"Do you need any help with that?" He asked.

Antauri shook his head and tied another bag.

"No I'm quite finished, however it would be nice if you put these outside." He said.

Trent nodded, anything to get his worries off his mind. He shivered when the cold air hit him as he put the bags outside the robot. He rubbed his arms as he went back inside to get more.

Skelemandarin watched him, observing his behavior.

"You know what's coming, don't you? Don't worry, I won't put it off for too long." He said darkly before melting back into the shadows.

Trent yawned as he finished his chore and walked back into Antauri's room.

"I'm done." He said.

Antauri looked up.

"Thank you for your help." He said as Trent sat down.

Trent shook his head.

"It's no problem." He said, stretching.

Antauri was silent for a moment.

"So Mandarin has told me that you had some worries?"

Trent stopped stretching.

"Well yeah...I get this weird feeling that something bad's gonna happen and it hasn't stopped since last night." He explained.

Antauri nodded, understanding.

"I'm trying to get it off my mind but I don't know..." Trent sighed.

Antauri floated over to him.

"I wouldn't exactly try to ignore these feelings nor would I worry so much over them."

"That's what Mandarin said." He sighed.

Antauri laughed a bit.

"I would still heed those words, we still have yet to find the clone. So I would keep on guard." He said.

Trent could only nod.

"However if you would like to relieve stress you can always go to the training room for a while or go out for a walk." Antauri suggested.

Trent looked at him and smiled.

"A walk does sound good, maybe later. I need food." He said before getting up.

"That does sound like a good idea."

Before the two left Mandarin opened the door. He tiredly looked at the two.

"Where is everyone?" He grumbled.

* * *

"Otto you didn't have to do this."

"I wanted to! Besides it might help you sleep." Otto chirped, placing the heating pad in Mandarin's lap.

Mandarin smiled, he was too sweet.

Trent watched on as everyone came back, either from shopping or from patrolling. He sighed, the anxiety still there.

Willow touched his shoulder.

"Hey are you okay?" She asked.

Trent jumped a bit and looked at her.

"Y-yeah. Just got a bad feeling something's gonna happen." He said honestly.

Willow then looked worried but held his hand.

"So you too huh? Yeah I've been feeling the same way." She admitted.

Trent was taken back by this, she was worried too?

She sighed.

"But don't worry, if he comes back around we'll just...kick his butt again." She said, smiling.

Trent smiled.

"Yeah...just have him smack him around and he'll run away." He laughed, pointing at Mandarin.

Willow laughed and sighed. She hugged him tightly, trying to squeeze the anxiety out of the both of them.

"I should be more worried than you." She huffed.

Trent nodded.

"Still...anyway I'm going for a walk, maybe stop by the bookstore to read on archeology." He said.

Willow nodded.

"Don't get a paper cut!" She said as he walked out.

She watched him go a placed a hand on her chest. It still wasn't going away.

* * *

Arwen sat on her bed, biting her lip. She couldn't keep this secret from her daughters anymore, she couldn't do it. The clone was out there and ready to snatch Willow away.  
If she doesn't tell Willow about her true origins now, it will be disastrous.

Her cell phone lit up and she looked at a text message. Arwen sighed and smiled.

She's here.

* * *

Trent walked around the park, admiring the trees and the giant water tower.

"Why does it have a face painted on it?" He wondered silently before continuing to walk.

As he walked, he noticed that there wasn't really anyone at the park today, it was just sort of empty. He sighed, enjoying the atmosphere. It felt kind of nice really. Then he sensed someone was near and he stopped. He morphed a ball of electricity and looked around.

When he saw some ruffling in the bushes he threw the ball at the bush and a shadow jumped away. He looked around as the shadow left his sight of vision.

"Why are you all alone, explorer?"

Trent turned to the other Mandarin, who had some sort of crystal around his neck.

Trent glared at him, two electricity balls in each hand.

"What are you doing here?!" He demanded.

"Why I've come here to help you." Skelemandarin replied.

Trent backed up.

"H-help me?"

Skelemandarin stepped closer.

"Isn't it such a burden? To be so nice, sweet, and simple?" He sneered.

Trent blinked. Simple?

"I can help you with that, I can make you more assertive and powerful." He said, stepping closer.

Trent growled and threw the two electricity balls.

"Stay back!"

Skelemandarin dodged both of them and kept getting closer.

"I don't need your help! I'm happy with the way I am!" Trent yelled, trying to call the Hyperforce for help.

Skelemandarin raced up to him and knocked the communicator out of his hands, kicking him in the stomach. Trent fell back and dodged another attack.

"Are you so sure? Will you just let everyone walk all over you for the rest of your life?!"

"Clearly you don't know me at all!"

He sent electric shards at him rapidly. Skelemandarin barely dodged him as one sliced his cheek. He yelled and growled before lunging at him, claws outstretched.

Trent kicked him away and created a glove full of sharp shards and began to go after him. The clone dodged each attack before morphing a sword and blocked the attack before punching him. Trent stumbled back and electricity flowed through his fingertips. He shot at him and SkeleMandarin flew into a tree.

Skelemandarin stumbled up, clearly this boy had the upper hand. He smirked, but his hand was higher.

"I only wish to help you."

Trent blinked before Formless silently formed behind him and knocked him out.

The clone stood over him as he groaned.

"To help you...help me." He laughed and Trent's world went dark.

* * *

And this is where the next dosage of feels begins! Thanks for reading!


	17. Chapter 17

Oh and this is where the shit begins! Get ready because the next few chapters are gonna be filled with...stuff.

* * *

Willow looked up from her reading. Something was wrong.

She rushed to the command centre, where everyone was looking worriedly at the screen.

"Guys! Something-!"

"We know, another ship is landing."

Willow blinked.

"Another ship?" She asked as Arwen rushed into the room too.

"Wait! It's a Natulian ship!" She panted.

Everyone looked at her, she sighed.

"I...I brought someone here. Someone that...uh..."

The scanners then showed the ship landing near a transport station. A young beautiful girl stepped off the platform, bags in hand. She had long brown soft curly hair, with some parts in a side ponytail. She had ocean blue eyes, a dark beauty mark under her right eye and soft rose pink lips. She was wearing a pink striped shirt and blue jeans. But what was most noticeable was the gold choker she had around her neck with a pink heart in the middle. She looked around, looking a bit worried before grabbing her bags tightly, and walked off.

Willow froze before growling.

"Brittany.." She snarled, her teeth sharpening.

She turned to Arwen.

"Why did you bring HER here?!" She demanded.

Arwen sternly looked at her daughter.

"She's here to help."

"Help?! When has this witch ever helped me?!" Willow asked.

"Who's Brittany?" Gibson asked.

"One of Willow's worst bullies. She was a nasty popular girl who tormented her." Amanda briefly explained.

"Willow, I talked to her and she's not like how she was before." Arwen said.

"Oh!? I doubt it!"

"Willow there was a good reason why she did the things she did! She couldn't-!"

Willow stomped her foot.

"A good reason?! A good reason for what?! For spreading around the fact that I was a freak?! For constantly torturing me?! For making me feel like having these powers is a tragedy?! For making me almost-!" She stopped herself.

Arwen placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders.

"Willow she and I want to talk to you. There's something about your origins you need to know." She said.

Mandarin looked over, interested.

Before Willow could reply the command center's screen blipped and Skelemandarin appeared.  
Mandarin growled as he smirked.

"Good afternoon Hyperforce." His clone greeted.

Everyone glared at him as Chiro stepped forward.

"What do you want?"

SkeleMandarin kept smirking.

"I just wanted to make a deal with you." He said.

He turned a bit and showed everyone Trent strapped to a table. Everyone coiled in shock.

Amanda gasped and put her hands over her mouth.

"Trent!"

"You bring me the girl, and I'll let him go."

Trent lifted his head.

"Willow don't do it! It's a trap he's gonna turn me-!" He screamed before a machine shocked him.

"Silence! Now what is it going to be?" Skelemandarin asked.

Willow growled.

"We'll fight you before she hands herself over to you!" Antauri growled.

The orange monkey smirked.

"Then why don't you? Meet me in the tomb in the Savage lands and we will finish this!"

Anger and determination flowed through everyone. SkeleMandarin sighed sadly.

"It's a shame though you won't be there. I won't have that much of a challenge." He said, eyeing his original counterpart.

Mandarin snarled.

Trent shook his head.

"Guys please...don't do it." He wheezed, tears stinging his eyes.

"Trent we'll be right there!" Nova said.

Skelemandarin smirked.

"I hope you'll be prepared, farewell till then."

The screen went blank. Chiro looked to the others.

"Get the robot ready we're going down there. Mandarin you stay in the base until we come back." Chiro ordered.

Mandarin wanted to argue but he only nodded and turned to grab something from his room. It was time he got to the bottom of this Willow nonsense.

Willow felt her fire powers and her scar burning inside her.

Arwen stepped up.

"I'm coming too." She said.

Willow looked at her, still kind of angry.

"What about Brittany?" She asked.

Arwen sighed.

"She can wait a bit longer."

Willow looked away but felt her mom hugging her.

"I'm sorry Willow, but she's been wanting to talk to you properly for a long time now." She said silently.

"Why?" She asked.

Arwen pulled back.

"Let's not worry about that now, Glory. Let's get Trent back." She said and Willow nodded.

Antauri went over to Willow.

"Don't worry, we'll get him back."

Willow looked at Antauri and unexpectedly hugged him, causing everyone to freeze. Their eyes widened. She pulled back and smiled.

"Yeah, we will." She said before sitting in the bubble chair.

Antauri was frozen for a while, a growing blush on his face before he shook that off and joined the others as they mobilized.

"Super!"

"Robot!"

"Team!"

"Hyper!"

"Force!"

"Go!"

The robot then blasted off, causing the base to shake slightly.

Mandarin coughed as the dust settles. He looked around the living room and noticed that the Hyperforce installed a large screen with a control panel similar to the one in the regular command centre. The buttons were big enough for his fingers.

He looked around as he attempted to turn it on. The screen then lit up and he smiled. He tapped a few keys and several screens popped up coming from all the places the Hyperforce drove in. It looked like it came from the monkeys perspectives.

"You...you all planned this didn't you?" Mandarin questioned.

"We wanted you to witness your clone being defeated." He heard Antauri's voice spoke to him.

Mandarin smiled even more and felt the hormones hit him hard. He wiped his eyes and sighed.

"Good, because I wouldn't miss it for the world."  
He then looked down at the blood samples. He looked around the computer and found a small plate. Mandarin placed the blood samples on them and looked on the computer to try to scan them. He finally found a way and started scanning them.

They came up the same as Gibson said, three different types of Dna all in one strand. Mandarin huffed, no it's time to not play this shit with him. He kept looking through it.

He sighed, getting frustrated. He knew there was something more beyond this, beyond this weirdness and mystery. Mandarin looked at the screen again and noticed that in the Dna there was something else there along the strand, it almost sparkled.

Mandarin narrowed his eyes and zoomed closer on the strand. He scanned that and entirely different information came up that contradicted the other ones!

'Type: Sueronian

Sueronian, the wish fulfillment reality changing aliens. They tend to seem more perfect than they really are...'

Mandarin stepped back. Of course how could he be so blind?

She's half Sueronian.

* * *

SkeleMandarin chuckled darkly as he turned to Trent.

"Your friends are coming to save you, how precious." He said as Trent looked down.

"Guys don't.."

"Oh but I bet their hearts are going to be so broken when they realize who exactly they're going to fight against other than me."

Skelemandarin took off the crystal from his neck and waved it over Trent.

It then glowed a dark purple and Trent winced at it's light.

Skelemandarin climbed up onto the table and smirked. He then thrusted it into Trent's chest and he screamed, dark energy pulsing through him.

"After all...I am going to need some help in bringing Diamanda into this world."

Slowly but surely, a smirk grew across Trent's face. His eyes turned purple and he felt powerful. It actually felt incredible! The clone stepped back as Trent sat up.

"Now...about that Brittany girl. She will be most useful." Skelemandarin said.

Trent looked at him and smirked.

"Leave her to me." He said, his voice sounding a bit deeper.

* * *

Brittany huffed, Arwen didn't reply for nearly fifteen minutes.

"This is so dumb, she should have met me here a while ago." She said.

She looked around and decided to go into the park and wait there.

After getting some directions she sat on a park bench and sipped on her latte. It was so cold out! Why did Shuggazoom have to be so cold!?

She looked at the grey clouds and wondered for a while.

"I hope she'll forgive me...I mean when I tell her why I was so mean to her she'll forgive me...right?"

Brittany laughed and shook her head. Look at her, she was talking to herself.

Still she hoped Willow will at least listen to her.

"Brittany?"

She looked toward the voice and was surprised to see Trent.

"T-Trent?" She asked, getting up.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, trying to hide his true intentions.

"Willow's mom called me and wanted us to talk to her about uh...stuff." Brittany said, trying to put on that popular girl tone.

Trent titled his head.

"What stuff?"

Brittany bit her lip.

"A lot of stuff, let's just say I want to talk to her about why I was so mean to her. There was something that made me act all bitchy to her without...without my control." She explained, rubbing her arm.

Trent leaned forward, interested.

"Get what you need! You have no time to reconcile with her!" Skelemandarin's voice yelled at him.

Trent nodded.

"Don't worry, I have a plan."

"So I guess you want her to forgive you?" Trent asked.

"And you too, I know I wasn't the best with you either. I really want to explain why I did the things I did." Brittany said, putting her hands together.

Trent smiled.

"Well that's cool of you, don't worry I got a way for her to forgive you."

Brittany's eyes lit up.

"You do?! But what about Miss Clint?"

"She's busy with something, I got an even better way of having Willow forgive you. She might not want to talk to you and might want something else to show how sorry you are. " Trent said.

Brittany frowned a bit, this sounded fishy but...Willow was never the talking type when they were in high school.

"Then what do I have to do?" She sighed.

Trent looked to the side.

"Well it sounds kinda...out there but I do want a bit of your blood."

Brittany backed up, her face all scrunched up.

"My blood?! What for?!" She asked.

"It wouldn't be much, just a bit of it. It will show Willow how truly sorry you are." Trent explained.

Brittany placed her hands on her hips.

"Well that sounds brash and disturbing."

Trent shrugged.

"Don't you want Willow to forgive you for being so cruel to her? Would you rather have her to never see your side of the story and reconcile with her?" He asked.

Brittany bit her lip and looked down.

"I really do want her to...ugh fine! Y'all are freaky you know that?" She huffed.

Trent snickered, oh she was so stupid!

"Do I have to cut my arm with a rock or are you going to pull a Dracula on me?" Brittany asked.

Trent raised an eyebrow.

"Do I look like a vampire? No I got this." He pulled out a syringe.

"Where did you get that?"

"The place we're living at has a lot of these." Trent said, going over to her.

"So what you live in a hospital?"

Trent laughed as he held her arm. She winced as some of her blood was pulled into it.

He put a bandage over it and she stared at him.

"When were your eyes purple?" Brittany asked.

Trent looked at her.

"You ever heard of colored contacts?"

Brittany nodded.

"Alright I was just asking. Anyway I do still want to talk to Willow, maybe later?" She asked.

Trent nodded.

"Yeah when we get the chance we'll be exploring this jungle with our friends and will be out for a while. I'm sure Arwen will be available when she's done."

Brittany nodded, they were always going off exploring something.

"Alright, I'll probably be waiting in a cafe or something."

Trent nodded.

"Well I gotta go, see you." He said.

"Okay!" She said, a sudden bad feeling taking over her.

Why did she feel like she just got tricked?

* * *

Gee I wonder why. But yeah Brittany, a mean girl from Willow's past, and evil Trent are here! And what are Sueronians? Find out in the next update! Thanks for reading!


	18. Chapter 18

Well here it is folks! The huge battle! Hope you're ready for it because I sure am!

* * *

Willow pulled her knees to her chest as the robot got closer to the tomb. Why Trent? Why him of all people? He didn't deserve this. No one did.

She then felt her mother's arms wrap around her.

"We'll get him back, don't worry." Arwen said.

Willow clutched to her arm.

"I hope so..." She said.

"Everyone, brace for landing." Chiro said as Arwen went back to her seat.

Willow clicked the seatbelt and winced. Her scar was burning wildly. She placed a hand on it and sighed, Diamanda must be going nuts over being around such evil.

The robot landed outside the tomb and everyone made their way out.

"Arwen, maybe you should stay behind." Antauri said.

Arwen glared.

"No way, remember I have powers like my daughters. I can handle a bit of combat." She huffed.

Antauri paused then nodded.

"Hyperforce! Let's move out!" Chiro said and they all made their way inside.

They walked through the dark corridors, avoiding certain traps along the way.

"I don't like this...it's too quiet." Otto muttered.

"Gibson, do you detect any life readings?" Chiro asked.

"They're a floor below us, we need to take a path from over there." Gibson said pointing to a doorway on the right.

Otto turned on his communicator.

"Hey Mandarin, you doing ok?" He asked.

Mandarin paused before speaking.

"Huh? Oh yes I'm fine." He said, getting over his discovery.

"You sure? You sound kind of off."

"I was just thinking." Mandarin sighed, looking at the blood samples.

Otto blinked but kept the communicator on.

As everyone kept going down they brought out their weapons. The tension and anxiety getting thicker with each step. They then entered a huge dark room.

Before anyone could use some sort of light, the room then lit up and everyone shielded their eyes.

Skelemandarin walked out of a hole in the wall.

"Well...this is nostalgic to me. Kind of like our last battle was set up, only now," he smirked.

"I will win this time!"

Then several formless slithered into the room, weapons ablaze.

"This is it? Seriously?" Nova sighed, this is going to be too easy.

"Where is Trent?!" Willow demanded.

Skelemandarin smirked.

"Funny you should ask where he is."

The Hyperforce felt someone walking in behind them.

"Oh! There he is now. Your timing is impeccable."

Everyone coiled in shock when they saw Trent, however it was clear that it wasn't the Trent they knew. His overall aura was darker than before. He looked to the others and smiled darkly.

"Hey Willow, how's it going?"

Willow's breath caught and she shook.

"No..."

"I said I would give him back to you if you handed yourself over. However, I wonder if you're going to want him back now." Skelemandarin said.

"What did you do to him?!" Jinmay demanded.

The clone held up the crystal he used before.

"Valina left behind many bountiful gifts when she died. This crystal was one of them. Thanks to it I can have anyone turned over to my side." He explained before sighing.

"Alas, it only works in one use. However I'm happy with what I did. I have a very useful ally. Did you get the blood?" He asked Trent.

Trent held up the syringe.

"Right here." He said walking past the others.

He joined up with Skelemandarin and gave him the syringe.

"Now what will you do? Do you really wish to fight against us?" Skelemandarin asked.

Everyone was at a lost for words. Chiro looked to the others.

"If we have to get him back, then we gotta."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Monkey team! Let's get him!" They all then lept foreword.

They were soon met by a sea of formless. One nearly kicked Amanda in the head before she used her ice shards to slice it down.

"Lightning kick!" Chiro kicked away several formless before charging at SkeleMandarin and Trent.

Trent lifted one hand and sent a wave of electricity to send Chiro back.

Jinmay leapt over him and shot out missiles from her hands. The two dodged them and Skelemandarin morphed a sword from his hand.  
He tried to go for her head but Jinmay kicked him over the skeletal monkeys back.

Trent watched over the situation, the evil in his heart growing. His eyes trailed to Willow, who used her pyrokinesis on the formless. Soon an idea grew in his head as silently continued to watch.

Antauri and Willow were then back to back as Willow picked Antauri from the legs and spun him around, using his claws as some sort of saw.

Otto kept blocking several attacks and sliced one formless down.

"Otto you might want to look to your left."

He turned and dodged a huge formless's attack.

"Scritch Scratch Doom Thrower!" He yelled as he sliced down the formless.

He sighed and smiled.

"Thanks." He said to Mandarin.

"Please, anything to finish him." Mandarin huffed.

"Oh! So you are here!" Skelemandarin chirped as he tried to get Otto from behind.

Jinmay was too busy fighting off other formless, which the skeletal monkey used as a diversion.

Otto blocked one of Skelemandarin's blows.

"I will say, it will be nice to have you watch all of your friends suffer by my hand!" He said.

Mandarin was silent and his clone thought he got to him.

"Otto was I always this pretentious?" He asked before Otto giggled.

Skelemandarin growled and tried to knock Otto off his feet but he jumped and kicked Skelemandarin. Skelemandarin quickly got up and punched Otto in the chin.

Gibson used his spin shocker on the formless on his right and saw Trent watching. He ran towards him, tranquilizers in hand but Trent turned and used his magic to have him float in the air before sending him to the wall. Gibson tried to get up, but formless goop covered his arms and legs, holding him back.

Sprx turned to him.

"Gibson!" He yelled, not knowing that Trent snuck up behind him.

He electrocuted Sprx and sent him to the same wall, the goop trapping him.

Skelemandarin looked at him, holding Otto down.

"What are you doing?!"

Trent looked back at him.

"I got a plan, don't worry." He chirped before Chiro tried to grab for him.

"Trent! We're your friends! Think what you're doing!" He pleaded.

Trent laughed.

"Are you kidding me?! This is the best I've felt in years!" He yelled before creating a dark ball and thrusting it at him.

Chiro dodged it and tried to leap at him but Trent thrust two fingers into Chiro's stomach, full of electricity.

Chiro yelled before was thrusted into a wall. The goop formed around him instantly.

"Chiro!" Nova yelled before a formless kicked her.

Amanda was then held by two large formless and placed onto the wall. Otto was also thrown to the wall. Arwen tried to blast the other formless away with her magic but was soon grabbed by two formless.

"Mom!" Willow yelled before she was kicked in the stomach.

Antauri tried to rush over to her but Trent stood before him.

"Sup?"

He used his dark magic to knock Antauri out right in front of Willow, who clutched her stomach in pain.

Mandarin looked at all the screens in panic. This was bad! Really bad! Everyone was captured and he could barely do a thing about it!

"Oh it must be terrible not being able to help, right?" Skelemandarin walked up to Otto.

Mandarin gripped the edges of the control panel.

"I'm sure you want to help, I'm sure you want to beat my face into the dirt and tear me apart." He said before shrugging.

"But you can't! Shame you won't get to see your friends die in person!"

Mandarin growled. How dare he toy with him like this!

"Oh! But do be careful! We don't want the poor baby to get stressed now would we?" Skelemandarin asked.

"Leave him alone..." Otto wheezed.

Skelemandarin glared at him.

"Was I talking to you?" He harshly asked before going to Trent.

Willow shook as Trent held Antauri over her head.

"Well, now what are you going to do Willy? Your friends are held down, your lover is out cold, and I am with your enemy. Soon your friends will be destroyed!" Trent taunted.

He then looked off to the side.

"Unless...you do something for me."

Willow stood up, shaking slightly. She glared at the two.

"Willow don't!" Arwen yelled.

"You become Diamanda again, and I won't kill your friends." Trent offered, dropping Antauri.

Willow stared at the silver monkey before looking at Trent.

"Willow don't do it!" Nova yelled.

"Willow so help me-!" Mandarin began.

"Willy..." Amanda choked.

Willow looked to everyone else.

"It's that simple Willow. All you have to do is shake my hand. For me?" Trent asked softly, holding out his hand.

Willow bit her lip, really thinking on it. They can save her if Diamanda takes control. They can.

She looked at Trent and grabbed his hand.

Trent smirked as Formless began to take the team away.

"Willow no!" Arwen screamed.

Mandarin shook. No, this wasn't happening!

"Now come Willow, there is much work to be done." Trent said.

"You swear you won't kill them?" Willow asked.

"Of course I won't. We made a deal remember?"

Skelemandarin grinned as the three walked off. Perfect.

* * *

Everyone was thrown into a cell and it was locked tight. Antauri was then brought back and had everything explained to him.

He gripped the bars, he couldn't save her.

Arwen grabbed her phone and quickly texted Brittany.

"What are you doing?" Nova asked.

"Brittany might help." Arwen said.

"Help?!" Amanda asked.

Arwen huffed.

"Look,I know it sounds crazy but she does want to talk and help." She said.

"Help?!" Amanda asked again.

"Ughhh okay! We need a plan!" Chiro groaned.

"We need to break out and take Mandarin 2 down!" Sprx huffed.

"Yes we got that,but how are we going to do that? Diamanda could take control any time by now." Gibson said.

Everyone thought on it.

"Antauri, you take on Diamanda." Arwen said.

Antauri looked over at her.

"Antauri? By himself?" Otto asked.

Arwen nodded.

"Whenever we had to fight her, one of us has to really talk to Willow. Tell her how much we love her and how she can fight her off. That usually works, however a different person has to talk to her each time." Arwen explained.

Antauri thought heavily on it.

"It sounds contrived but it'll have to work." Mandarin huffed.

"Mandarin. I'll do it, Arwen." Antauri said.

Arwen nodded and smiled. If anyone could save her daughter, it was him.

"Mandarin can you try to find her on that computer?" Jinmay asked.

"I can try." He said before searching Willow in the area, using her blood as a tracking signal.

"What about Trent?" Amanda asked.

"We could try that thing that turned me good again." Sprx said.

Everyone was about to agree but Mandarin started clearing his throat.

"Excuse me?" He asked.

"We'll explain that later, that does sound like a good idea. However we have to keep him still." Antauri said.

"And the clone?" Jinmay asked.

"Knock him out!" Otto chirped.

"Yes please!" Mandarin sighed.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"She's at the top of the tomb,. I'm guessing the others are with her." Mandarin stated, sounding slightly annoyed.

Everyone nodded.

"Then let's go up there and help her!" Arwen said, forming long icicles on her fingers and slashing down the bars, with Amanda helping.

* * *

Brittany received the text minutes later.

"Brittany! Willow's been kidnapped, Trent has turned evil, and we're all imprisoned! You need to get to the Tomb located in the Savage lands and hurry!"

Brittany cursed herself, she knew something was up when Trent asked for her blood! She ran out of the cafe and used her teleportation powers to get there as quickly as she could. She tried to think of a jungle like tomb but due to her not knowing this planet very well she had a hard time finding the specific place. Only around twenty times did she finally get inside a tomb like area. It was so close to night now, so seeing was hard. She took out a flashlight and began to look around.

Brittany heard some talking coming from above and looked over a flight of stairs. She began to walk up them , growing nervous. She then made it to the top of the tomb, where a giant skull-like fortress sat on and what seemed to be an altar. The talking was growing louder now and she walked towards the noise. She then saw Trent looking at something.

Trent saw her and smiled.

"Brittany, I knew you'd come. I have something for you." He said, moving away a bit.

Brittany shone her flashlight on the altar and saw Willow tied to it. Her eyes were shut.

She gasped, horrified and angry.

"What have you done?!" She demanded.

"Why I am bringing Diamanda into this world." Trent shrugged.

"No!"

"She will take control once I use your blood on her." Trent cooed.

"No I won't let you do this!" Brittany said, feeling so guilty and stupid.

"You've been torturing her for years! What makes this any different?!" Trent asked.

"I couldn't help it! I didn't know she couldn't control her powers that badly! I never wanted this!" Brittany yelled in anguish.

Trent titled his head.

"And would it have mattered? Would you have just let yourself keep bullying her?"

Brittany clenched her fists.

"You clearly don't understand anything! I couldn't help it! I never wanted to bully her, I wanted to talk to her! But something in her powers made me do it!" Brittany shouted.

"Still, you did it. And now you must deal with the consequences. So why don't you stand there and let yourself be a sacrifice or something? I'm sure you'll get forgiveness that way." Trent said, shooing her away.

Brittany looked at Willow. Both Trent and Willow were sucked into all of this. Her heart ached at the sight of her suffering, it was a familiar ache too.

"No.."

Trent shrugged.

"I guess after all these years you just don't care-"

Brittany quickly morphed a battle axe and waved it at him.

"Hold your tongue or I'll remove it! Willow wouldn't want this..." She said going over to her.

"Come on, I'll help you both." She said trying to break Willow free.

Trent's dark magic tried to grab at her but she threw down her axe.

"I want to help you Trent! Something clearly has taken over you and I don't want to fight you but I will if I have to!"

Trent snickered.

"Since when has a bitch like you ever helped-?"

"I told you to hold your tongue!" Brittany yelled before swinging at him.

Trent laughed and backed up as the two began to fight, Skelemandarin watching.

"Well...that was very interesting." He said as he took out the syringe.

He poured some blood onto his finger tips and lifted Willow's shirt.

Willow stirred slightly. The skeletal monkey then rubbed the blood on her scar, making it glow. Willow then groaned loudly and breathed heavily, the dark energy pulsing through her veins.

"Finally, after all this time. She will finally be here." He said before cackling as Willow leaned back and screamed, a dark gust of wind overpowering her.

Her necklace that her deceased father gave her began to glow brightly.

* * *

Thank you for reading! See you in the next chapter


	19. Chapter 19

Here it is, the big shit show. I hope you enjoy it, I really do.

* * *

The bars were soon destroyed and everyone poured out. They darted to the stair well and ran up to the top.

When they got up , no one seemed to be there.

"Uh Mandarin? Are you sure this is where she is?" Sprx asked.

"Yes! In fact she seems very close...wait..."

Mandarin leaned in on the screen a bit. There was a purple blip coming closer and closer to them.

"I think that's her coming right-!"

Then the Hyperforce was flung back as a white fireball blasted the ground close to them. Everyone recovered as they saw Skelemandarin hopping onto the ledge and someone floating down. She had long black hair with white streaks in it, black eyes, red markings on her skin, black battle boots, and she wore a low cut white dress. Her curled smile revealed teeth were like wolf fangs and around her neck was a black choker with a diamond shaped red jewel. The girl also had a tattoo on her shoulder in the shape of a skull with horns on it. She looked very similar to Willow.

"Greetings Hyperdorks." She snickered.

Everyone gazed upon her in horror.

"Willow?" Otto asked.

Amanda shook her head.

"No...that's not Willow. That's Diamanda." She breathed.

Diamanda smirked.

"Correct, dear sister. I will admit it is nice to see you again, to see you suffer!" She morphed a white fireball and threw it at them.

The team dodged it and Diamanda kept throwing fireballs at them. Gibson used his spin shocker to try to sedate her but she dodged it.

"Magno ball beam splitter!" Sprx yelled as he sent various electricity balls at her.

She managed to dodge a few but one hit her. Diamanda growled and chanted a spell that created a beam of energy that hit Sprx.

Skelemandarin grabbed Nova's arm as she was about to go after her. Nova turned to him and glared.

"Flame fist fury!" She punched the clone away and began to go after him.

Amanda and Arwen created a giant water ball and harshly splashed it against Diamanda. Diamanda fell to the floor and coughed. She stood back up, using her fire powers to dry herself off.

"You do realize that water and heat make steam, don't you?!" She asked before breathing fire at the two.

They dodged it and and kept trying to freeze her down, unfortunately no matter how hard they tried she kept melting the ice. She then fired a blast of magical energy at them, sending the two back.

"Willow! You can fight this!" Jinmay yelled before dodging another attack.

"Please! Don't start that whole friendship crap with her! She's too weak and miserable to do anything!" Diamanda cackled.

Chiro threw a Chiro spearo at her and she grabbed it. She crushed it in her hand.

"What do you mean miserable?" He asked.

Diamanda looked at Skelemandarin.

"Well I guess that brat didn't tell you the conditions for bringing me back in control of this wretched body. She had to feel certain emotions in order for me to awaken." She chirped before sending sharp needles at the team.

"First, sorrow. She felt so happy on Shuggazoom that she actually grew sad thinking about her past when she revealed it to you." Skelemandarin said as he fought Chiro.

Diamanda grinned and turned her hands into dragon claws and went hand to hand with Antauri.

"Then rage. When Mandarin 2 showed up and she nearly lost control of her powers, she was so angry at him her dark energy fed me." She laughed before kicking Antauri away.

She stood in front of the others and sneered.

"Finally despair. This was actually very recent as your lives were on the line and she had to have me take over, her heart was in such agony that she would let me destroy everything she loves! Including you." Diamanda said motioning towards the others.

The team stood there in shock. Diamanda created a white fireball again, only bigger than before.

"So really I must thank you for bringing her here, you made this all the more easier for me!" She laughed before thrusting at them.

Before anyone can dodge they all flew back into the skull structure.

"Come on! Fight her!" Mandarin shouted.

Antauri winced as he got up.

"But...she's our friend." Otto coughed.

"Even so you have to fight her! You won't be able to talk to her or stop Diamanda anyway! You fought Trent so what makes this any different?!" Mandarin asked.

Everyone paused as Antauri went up to her.

"Willow please, you have to fight against her. This is your body!" He said.

Diamanda snickered.

"Are you really going to try that?"

"Willow you're stronger than her! You can take back control!"

"Talking to her isn't going to do shit pal!"

Antauri tried to get closer but Diamanda sent a huge beam of energy at him. However by his love and determination he kept walking.

"Wha-what are you doing?!" Skelemandarin demanded.

Antauri stepped forward.

"Willow you have to fight her, I know you can. I know how determined and strong you are! That's one of the reasons..." He paused.

"That's one of the reasons why I lo-" Antauri was then knocked to the side by a dark ball.

Everyone looked at the source as Brittany fell in front of them, passed out. Trent stood over her and looked at Diamanda. He dusted his hands and walked over to her.

"You're welcome." He chirped.

Diamanda blinked then smiled.

"Thanks."

Trent turned to the others, the dark energy flowing.

"Now let's finish these weaklings and then we get the other one and wait out until he has the child. That way we can use her for our plans!" Trent said.

Mandarin's white hot rage then came flowing back.

"Over my dead body you will!"

Trent laughed as he morphed a electric dark ball.

"Like you have a choice!" He said.

Diamanda stood behind him.

"Trent dearie..."

She thrusted a dark claw inside him.

"You don't need to cling to this pathetic mortal body."

Trent froze and yelled in anguish as Diamanda pulled something out of him, causing him to fall over. She set down a man similar to Trent, however he had dark purple eyes and an overall darker aura. He turned to Diamanda.

"What was that for?!" He demanded.

Diamanda shrugged.

"I thought you might like not having to cling to such a weak body. Better?"

He looked over himself and smiled.

"Much better actually."

Diamanda smirked.

"So want to destroy these weaklings with me Trent?" She asked.

The evil Trent looked to the team and his original self.

"Oh please Dia, call me Sage."

Diamanda blinked but chuckled.

The two combined their powers and began to blast their energy towards them. Then a bright light stopped the attack. The light faded and revealed to be a girl with pink hair with a shield. She had a part of her hair in a side ponytail and wore a red dress. She almost looked like...

"Brittany?!" Amanda asked.

Brittany glared at the two before looking at Antauri.

"Get Trent to Arwen, she can heal you." She said.

Antauri blinked but nodded, taking Trent over to the others.

"Wait,you have healing powers? Wait, Brittany had powers?! Since when?!" Amanda asked.

Arwen closed her eyes.

"She was born with them. Just like you."

Everyone stared as Antauri came back with Trent.

"But if that's the case then why...?"

"I'll explain later, right now we have to keep fighting!"

Diamanda glared at her while Sage was generally confused.

"So now all of a sudden you have powers too?! Since when?" He asked.

"Since ever. Arwen! We should tell them now!" Brittany said looking back as the poor mother was healing everyone was fast as she could.

"Now?!" Arwen asked.

Mandarin straightened his back, do they know she's half Sueronian?

"It could appeal to both of their emotions and Willow might get the strength to win against her." Brittany said.

Arwen looked at her then at Diamanda. Her baby was in there...if she tells her now then maybe it might work.

Diamanda growled.

"I don't have time for this! This planet has an expiration date and it will be by my hand!" She yelled as she gathered power.

"Now would really seem like a good time!"

Arwen looked at everyone then at Brittany.

"Willow! Sweetie there's something you need to know about your origins!" She yelled.

"Not this crap again! Formless get em!" Sage yelled before he and Skelemandarin were held in ice.

"You stand and watch!" Arwen snapped.

Diamanda suddenly began to had to hurry!

"Diamanda this applies to you too, we were trying to tell you on the day Willow was born." She said.

"Heh! Please, like her and I are at all related!" Diamanda huffed.

"Maybe not by blood, but by species you are!" Mandarin said and a lot of people looked at Otto's communicator.

"I looked up Willow's blood samples and I found something that might interest the both of you!"

Arwen blinked but smiled, somehow feeling reassured.  
Diamanda shook her head and snickered.

"Diamanda, when my mother's friends tried to defeat you they wanted to tell you about where you really came from and try to help you." Brittany pleaded.

"I already know where I came from, queen bee! From the depths of darkness of everyone's hearts and dreams made real!" Diamanda cackled.

Arwen shook her head.

"No Dia, that's not true...and Willow I should have told you this years ago!" She began.

Diamanda scoffed and raised a huge white fireball.

"This is where it ends mortals!" She yelled.

They had no choice.

"Willow!"

"Diamanda!"

Diamanda raised her arms back.

"You're a Sueronian!" Arwen, Brittany, and Mandarin collectively yelled.

Diamanda stopped and her face scrunched up.

"Sue-sueronian?" She asked.

Everyone looked at each other, confused.

"What's a Sueronian?" Amanda asked slowly.

Arwen was silent.

"They are aliens who half of our species wants to take over other planets and the other half like Willow and the other girls who just want to live out their dreams and fantasies. Seeming to be more perfect than they really are." Mandarin explained.

Everyone stiffened at the definition.

Brittany morphed her battle axe. Diamanda just stood there, frozen.

"We can bend reality thanks to the jewels we were given at birth. Our powers that we have are modified in these gems. They are our greatest strength as well as our biggest weakness." She said, touching her choker.

"You and your sister are only half Sueronian, so you're not as powerful. Your father gave your ring and Willow's necklace to you so you can grow to protect Natulis from danger when he and his team passes on...however there were a few catches." Arwen bit her lip.

Amanda looked down at her ring her father gave her and touched it gently, a mix of feelings flowing through her. Confusion, anger, sadness, and shock.

Brittany stared at Diamanda, guilt in her eyes. She began to walk towards her, past the two shocked villains. Diamanda backed up a bit but stopped.

"Willow when you got that necklace and you received your powers, you accidentally let off some sort of aura that changed how others perceived you. You accidentally caused the other people to hate your powers instead of actually getting to know you, including me." She wrapped her arms around Diamanda.

"I know you didn't mean it, to make me hate you. I wanted to talk to you about your powers since I felt so alone being the only half Sueronian. I wanted us to be friends." She choked.

Diamanda shook slightly.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't fight it and hurt you so badly. I'm so sorry." Brittany sobbed.

Diamanda continued to shake.

"Th-then what about me? What relation do I have in all of this?" She asked, growling slightly.

Mandarin typed a bit and came up some more information.

"From what I'm guessing, you might not even remember you being one. There's a growing number of Sueronians forgetting their lineage and follow what their wish fulfillment stories wanted." He said.

Diamanda felt herself going into a cold sweat. She broke away from Brittany and looked down, hand over her mouth in shock.

"So that's what you wanted to tell me...after all these years...I-I'm not-!" She shook.

Skelemandarin growled and looked at her.

"Forget what they say! Destroy them now and let's get this over with!" He demanded.

She didn't respond, it was as if she didn't hear him.

"Diamanda! I command you to finish them!" He yelled.

Diamanda looked at him before looking down again.

"I don't...I don't know what to do right now...I mean.." Brittany touched her shoulders and smiled.

"Don't worry, we can figure out what happens next,together." She said as she morphed back into her normal mode.

Diamanda stared at her, not knowing what else to say or do.

They suddenly felt the ground shake a little as Sage broke free. He looked to the others and smiled.

"Wow what a twist! I will say this is an amazing performance, top notch." He said sarcastically as he clapped his hands.

Brittany shielded her as the team rushed over as well.

Sage looked to the Hyperforce.

"Well now what are you going to do? You just found out your friend has been living a lie and she may have accidentally caused all of you to really like her! By no will of your own I might add." He said as he circled them, his eyes hungry.

"So tell me, does this make you angry? Confused? Does it make you want to leave her?" He asked, sadism filling his voice.

Antauri glared at him darkly.

"Of course not! We refuse to leave her side, even if she has powers she couldn't control!" He said.

"Yeah that's right!" Chiro snapped.

"She's our friend, whether it was due to some aura thingy or not!" Otto huffed.

"And we won't let you hurt her!" Nova said, arm out in front of Diamanda.

Gibson took out his drills.

"Besides, the real villains in this situation are you and Mandarin 2!"

Skelemandarin groaned at the nickname.

"Everyone..." Diamanda muttered.

Mandarin's snickers were heard from Otto's communicator.

"Besides, I've been suspicious about this since the beginning. It's actually quite relieving knowing this no-" he was then silent.

"Mandarin?" Gibson asked.

Mandarin was silent for a good minute.

"What are you doing here? You were dead." He growled, fear and disbelief present in his tone.

"Mandarin? What's happening?" Chiro asked.

"Hello Mandarin, it's been awhile hasn't it? My faithful servant." A familiar dark voice sent chills up everyone's spines.

"Skeleton King?" Chiro breathed.

Amanda turned to Sage, who grinned.

"What are you-?"

Sage chuckled.

"Before you got here, I decided to do some snooping in a lab not too far from here and I happen to come across some...interesting video files. Including one about your dear friend's biggest mistake! So I sent Mandarin a little gift!" He sneered.

Skelemandarin blinked before realizing and smiled as well.

"Biggest mistake?" Gibson pondered before gasping.

"The Alchemist! Mandarin don't listen to anything he says!" Gibson yelled.

* * *

Mandarin had his back turned to the screen, his hands on the panel's edges.

The shape of Skeleton King lured in the darkness, his red eyes staring right at him.

The shape moved forward and Mandarin flinched.

"My how round you've gotten."

Mandarin growled and placed an arm over his stomach protectively.

"Mandarin! Don't listen to anything he says!" Gibson yelled.

Mandarin looked back at the screen before looking back at him.

"Psh, you don't have to tell me that. I know he's only an illusion." Mandarin sighed before turning away.

He began to type on the keys.

"I can try to get the robot to you using the autopilot. Just hold on a bit longer." He said.

Skeleton King chuckled darkly.

"You can go away now, I know you're fake." Mandarin sighed.

"Maybe so, but do you really want to save them? After all they've done to you?" The fake Skeleton King asked.

Mandarin rolled his eyes.

"Please, what happened has happened and I forgive them." He sighed before waving a hand.

"Now shoo, I got work to do."

He then felt Skeleton King was much closer now.

"Oh but Mandarin, I have some information for you. Don't you want to hear about how I came to be and where you came from?" Skeleton King asked.

Mandarin stopped typing and looked back.

"Mandarin don't listen! It's a trap!" Nova yelled.

The audio from their end soon was muted and they can only hear what the two were talking about.

"You see, many years ago you and the Hyperforce were created in a lab not too far from where they are right now."

Mandarin burrowed his brows in confusion.

"Where are you going with this?"

"Let me finish! Anyway there was a man who took care of each of you before you were robotized. Someone who was so sickeningly kind and good that he would go the extra mile just to keep you safe." Skeleton King cooed, faking the sweetness in his voice.

Mandarin nearly felt his heart skip a beat. There was someone who took care of them? He thought there were just a bunch of scientists who just created them! No! This was a trick! It's all a trick!

"This man also had a portal to the netherworld. A grave mistake on his part when you think about it, due to it being not as impenetrable as he thought. He had this portal to observe their activity, just in case anything were to happen."

Skeleton King was now pacing the room in front of Mandarin's vision.

"However one day, a terrible accident happened that caused one of the dark ones to corrupt his soul entirely. Do you know who caused this accident?" Skeleton King asked, stopping his pacing.

The uneasiness soon settled into Mandarin's stomach as he looked around. He hoped what he was implying wasn't true.

"I...assume it was because of them was powerful enough to break free?" He questioned.

Skeleton King paused before getting right up to his face.

"It was you. You saw a monster in the chamber and wanted to scare it off like the big tough monkey you thought you were. His accident and demise, it all was on your hands." He sneered.

Nausea and coldness was all Mandarin could feel. He could barely move.

"Mandarin! Mandarin don't listen!" Otto yelled.

"I'm sorry, I don't think he can hear you right now. Might as well listen to him fall into despair while me and his clone escape!" Sage sneered.

Skelemandarin glared.

"I am not running away! This day was supposed to be mine!" He yelled.

Sage sliced down the ice holding him as the Hyperforce darted towards him.

"For another day, right now is our chance to recover and think of a new plan. We'll get them." Sage assured him, picking him up.

"Monkey mind scream!" Antauri yelled, unleashing his attack on them.

The two dodged it and Sage slid off the temple and into the darkness.

"They got away! Again!" Sprx yelled.

"Don't worry, we'll get them next time." Arwen sighed, feeling just as defeated.

"And you know what happened to that man?" The team turned to Otto's communicator.

"I-I don't think I want to.." Mandarin's voice stuttered.

"Mandarin!" Otto exclaimed. Why won't he hear him?!

Skeleton King leaned into Mandarin.

"After the accident and after he created all of you disgusting robotic simians, his soul was corrupted completely. Turning him,"

He backed up and motioned to himself.

"...into me."

Mandarin's breath caught as he froze. He slowly shook his head.

"No...you're lying." He said, his mouth feeling like cotton was stuffed in it.

Skeleton King glared.

"Oh am I?"

He turned up the volume and harshly held Mandarin's arm. Even if he was illusion, the feeling was still very real.

"Filthy primates! Was he or was he not the one who created me?! Was he not the one who caused the containment grid to malfunction?! Was he not the one who caused the universe's greatest evil?!" He demanded.

Mandarin looked at the screen, seeing the team's worried and guilty faces.

 _"It wasn't me."_ He thought.

"Everyone...it couldn't have been me. Please tell me I wasn't the one who created the Skeleton King? Tell me it's all fake like he is!" Mandarin pleaded, shaking slightly.

The Hyperforce looked at each other, their expressions turned solum.

 _"It wasn't me."_ Mandarin thought again, now no longer believing his own thoughts.

"No...no please."

"Mandarin...you were so young. You didn't know the consequences." Antauri sighed.

Mandarin felt cold all over and his breathing rate quickened.

Skeleton King let go and backed up, smiling evilly.

"My work here is done, it was nice talking to you again. Even if it led to your own despair."

He laughed evilly and disappeared, leaving a bewildered and traumatized Mandarin. He fell to his knees, unable to speak. The laughter rang in his ears.

Otto stiffened.

"We need to get to him!" He said.

"But what about-?"

Everyone heard grunts behind them and saw Diamanda doubled over.

"Diamanda what's going on?!" Arwen asked.

Diamanda looked up.

"I'm giving the brat back control what do you think I'm doing?!" She huffed.

"But-!"

Diamanda coughed.

"I just...I need to think for a while. I don't think this brat will remember this conversation we had, nor should she for a while. Just...just tell her when she's ready."

Arwen and Brittany looked at each other and nodded.

Diamanda bit her lip as she held back tears.

"Thank you for telling me...now I know who I really am."

And those were the last words she said before a bright light consumed her. In her place, Willow returned back to her normal body.

Arwen and Amanda rushed to her unconscious body.

"We need to get them back to the robot and get to Mandarin. The baby could have gone into distress!" Gibson said, holding up Trent who was still unconscious.

Everyone nodded and took Trent and Willow back to the robot and they made their way home. The dark battle ridden tomb growing smaller in the distance.

* * *

Well the shit continues to hit the fan! Thank you so much for reading and soon enough we'll know more about the Sueronians.


	20. Chapter 20

Hey, welcome to the next chapter, the aftermath of the shitstorm. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

The robot landed back home and Otto rushed to the lower base.

"Mandarin!" He called out as the others made it inside.

"Get Trent and Willow onto the tables, they need to rest." Gibson ordered.

The two were then laid down, Jinmay quickly leaving to follow Otto.

Amanda looked over Willow and held her hand. Arwen walked up next to her and sat down.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Amanda asked, anger in her voice.

Arwen bit her lip.

"You've heard the news back then. Sueronians were being hunted for their powers and for taking over their planets. I had to keep this a secret to protect you." She explained.

Amanda got up, glaring at her.

"And you couldn't have protected us from this?! Willow could have been-!" She turned away.

Arwen looked down.

"I know. I should have told you, that way Willow wouldn't have been bullied and none of this would have happened...but a lot of the hunters were on Natulis."

Amanda turned to her, eyes wide.

"It wasn't like that before...people were once so accepting of sueronians that were kind. Now..." Arwen choked and put a hand to her mouth.

Amanda sat back down and gripped her knees.

"Natulis just keeps getting better." She sighed.

Arwen held back a sob, tears running down her face.

"I'm so sorry Amanda...you have every right to hate me."

Amanda whipped her head at her.

"I don't hate you! Don't ever think that! Yes I'm a bit mad at you but I don't hate you!" She exclaimed before hugging her.

"Still...I'm so sorry." She sobbed.

Amanda sighed, it's going to be a while for her to forgive her for this.

"I know..."

* * *

Otto rushed down and looked around the living room until his eyes came across Mandarin, still sitting in the same spot he was before. He darted over to him while Jinmay began to catch up.

"Mandarin! Mandarin!" He said, trying to get a response.

Mandarin didn't say anything, he didn't even look at Otto in the face. Otto looked over him until he found the communicator and dialed Tilamat.

"Come on...come on!"

"Mandarin it hasn't even been a day!" Tilamat sighed.

"Tilamat it's me! Otto! Please check on the baby!" Otto demanded, panicked.

"Otto? Why are you trying to call me?" Tilamat asked but he gasped. "Wait! Where's Mandarin?!"

"He's right here! Please check!" Otto pleaded, nearly bouncing in place.

"O-okay! I'm checking right now." Tilamat said.

It took a few minutes, Jinmay rubbing Mandarin's shoulder.

"Huh? She's fine." Tilamat said.

Otto blinked in confusion.

"What?"

Tilamat looked over the data and the ultrasound.

"Yeah, she isn't in any distress or anything. Why? What happened?" He asked.

Otto put down the communicator and looked at Mandarin, who didn't move. How is that possible? How can Mandarin be in so much agony and stress and the baby is not at all affected? How?

"Otto! What happened?!" Tilamat asked again, serious.

Otto blinked before putting it back up.

"I think Mandarin's having a mental breakdown."

"What? How?!"

"It's a long story just tell us what to do!" Jinmay said.

"Keep talking to him, try to get him to sit on something soft and keep his stress levels down. If this keeps up the baby will go into distress." Tilamat advised.

Otto tried to pull on Mandarin but he didn't budge.

"He's not responding!"

Jinmay then got him up and over to the couch. Mandarin still looked down, not speaking.

"Just stay with him and talk to him, try to get him to calm down. Can you please keep me on the line just in case?"

Otto nodded and sat down next to Mandarin. He set the communicator down and crawled up on his shoulder and onto one of the purple torso pieces.

"Mandarin? Listen...this...I mean..."

"It was an accident." Jinmay muttered.

Otto nodded and turned to him.

"Yeah! An accident! You didn't know any better! You don't even remember it happening." Otto snuggled him.

Mandarin bit his lip.

"Mandarin this isn't your fault. You had no idea this would happen." Jinmay said.

Otto smiled.

"Besides it's all in the past now. Skeleton King is gone and the universe is free from him. I think Antauri would say something like 'the past is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today's a gift' or something like that." Otto breathed.

"...but I still did it." Mandarin finally said.

"He's speaking again." Tilamat muttered.

"I still did it, I created him. I unleashed one of the universe's greatest evils and it's all my fault." Mandarin said, his voice shaking.

Otto shook his head.

"No Mandarin-!"

"No matter what I do, I'm always on the path of darkness. No matter what side I'm on!" He choked.

"Mandarin that is not true-!"

"Then explain to me why I shouldn't feel this way! Why shouldn't I be blamed for all of the corrupted planets that have been destroyed in his wake?! Why shouldn't I be blamed for Antauri sacrificing himself?! Why shouldn't I be blamed for the millions of people that have died or suffered! Tell me why I shouldn't be blamed for any of that!" Mandarin demanded, getting up.

Otto fell off and onto the couch, then sat back up.  
The Hyperforce peered into the room, watching this happen.

"Mandarin-"

Mandarin turned to the others.

"All of you don't have that burden. You can just go on without any regrets, of not having the universe suffer because of your actions. But I have to carry this burden until I die!" He growled.

"Skeleton King wasn't the monster unleashed in this universe! He wasn't the one who caused so much suffering!" He yelled before looking down.

"It was me all along." He choked.

Antauri stepped forward.

"That isn't true and you know it." He said.

Mandarin looked away, pained. He then began to walk away.

"Mandarin!" Otto ran after him.

Everyone watched him go, unsure of what to do or say to him. Tilamat then sighed.

"His stress levels are going down...but his emotional state is right back where it started. It's even worse now..." He said, sadly.

* * *

Two days past, Willow and Trent were still unconscious. Antauri looked at Willow gently before holding her hand. He's been visiting her a lot during the two days, waiting and quietly talking to her while she slept.

"Do wake up soon you two..." He said.

Amanda walked into the room and jumped slightly.

"You-you're holding her hand!" She squeaked.

Antauri jumped and let go, his face a bright red.

"I-I just!"

Chiro then walked in and Antauri stood up, clearing his throat.

"S-so Mandarin still hasn't left his room?" He asked.

Chiro sadly shook his head.

"No, no he hasn't. Only for meals but that's it." He sighed.

Amanda leaned a bit.

"So was he really the cause of Skeleton King?" She asked.

Chiro sighed.

"One of our friends said he must have gotten entranced or something by a creature in the Netherworld and tried to scare it away. We don't exactly know what happened, the Alchemist wiped the monkeys memories away. He didn't give them back their memories either after we turned him back because the team didn't want them." He explained.

Amanda nodded slightly and looked down. The poor guy, having to find out you somehow caused the creation of an extremely powerful and evil villain like Skeleton King? She couldn't imagine what Mandarin was feeling right now.

"This can't continue, we need to find some way to make him feel better about what happened." Antauri said.

"But what do we do? We tried talking to him and getting the citizens to cheer him up will only make both parties feel weird." Chiro sighed.

The two nodded before they heard some groaning noises behind them. They turned to see Trent sit up, rubbing his head. Tears welled up in Amanda's eyes as she ran over and hugged him.

"Trent!" She squealed.

Chiro smiled.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

Trent blinked at him, silent.

"I...I feel...wait!" Trent pushed Amanda off him and curled up slightly.

"No! Don't touch me! I'll only hurt you again!" He yelled, shaking.

Amanda was clearly hurt and confused.

"Huh? Trent that wasn't your fault!" She said.

"Yes, Mandarin 2 was controlling you." Antauri said.

Trent shook his head, tears filling his eyes.

"I still did and said so many horrible things to you-I- I don't want-!"

He got up and ran off, covering his face.

"I don't want you to get hurt by me again!" He ran to one of the tubes and went down before the others could get to him.

"Trent!" Amanda called out to him but he was already gone.

Sprx looked back at the three. It just keeps getting better.

"What happened?" Gibson asked.

Amanda sniffled.

"Trent is blaming himself for turning evil..."

Sprx bit his lip, he knows how that felt. After turning back to normal from the fire of hate, it took him a really long time not to blame himself for bringing back Skeleton King. He made a mental note to talk to both Trent and Mandarin, since he knows how both sides feel.

Nova laid her head back.

"This is terrible, now Trent is upset. Now what?"

The others began to think, not hearing someone coming up one of the tubes.

"I hope I'm not intruding, but I visited like I said I would."

Everyone quickly turned and their eyes widened.

"Alchemist!"

* * *

Trent ran into the storage room and jumped when he saw Mandarin still in bed. He figured he was asleep so he quietly closed the door and tiptoed his way into the now empty nursery and silently closed his door. He sat on his bed and sobbed silently. He remembered he remembered everything he did to his friends. Turning Willow into Diamanda, hurting those close to him, betraying them, it all just hurt so much.

If his stepfather were here, he'd no doubt yell at him to stop crying and be a 'man' or some shit like that. However, he couldn't help it.

Mandarin on the other hand, found no tears could fall from him. He could only stroke his stomach and feel the insane amount of guilt that flowed through him.  
He wouldn't blame anyone if they couldn't forgive him, he wouldn't even blame the man who turned into the Skeleton King.

* * *

"I-I don't understand. What are you doing here?" Nova asked, clearly happy.

The Alchemist smiled as he sat down in one of the chairs offered to him.

"Like I said last year, I would visit you annually. Just to catch up and see how each of you are doing. I see you have made some new friends." He said.

Amanda nodded and walked forward. So this was the Alchemist, the one who used to be Skeleton King.

"Yes I'm Amanda Clint. My mother and a friend of hers are buying my sister flowers. She uh kinda..."

Everyone looked at each other and the Alchemist's smile dropped.

"Wait what happened?" He asked.

The others were silent for a minute.

"Things have really changed since you've been gone." Antauri said.

After some explaining the Alchemist sighed sadly. This whole situation just sounded terrible. Except for the fact that there were new members to the team and that Mandarin was having a child, that he was happy about.

"The poor dear, is she alright?" He asked.

Antauri nodded.

"She just needs some rest for now, Gibson said she'll wake up soon enough." He explained.

The Alchemist nodded.

"I will say I have seen Sueronians before, the majority of the ones I met seemed to be nice enough. Though I think a few of them wanted me to fall in love with them." He muttered the last part awkwardly.

Nova shivered.

"Wow why?" She asked.

"Not sure, maybe it was a part of what they programmed for their stories to follow. All of them have some unique backstory or another." He said then looked sullen and was silent for a second.

"I was hoping if the original Mandarin was found he wouldn't have to know about this, or at least was told not during times of battle." He said sadly.

Amanda tilted her head.

"So it is true..."

He sighed.

"I should have kept a better eye on the containment grid, or at least made it more impenetrable. That way Mandarin wouldn't have..."

Otto bit his lip and looked at him.

"Are you mad at him?" He asked.

The Alchemist turned to him, eyes wide.

"Of course not! I mean what happened was terrible, but I forgive him." He said.

"You do?" Jinmay asked.

"Of course, I also was at fault. However that doesn't matter now since it is in the past and I'm back to normal, thanks to you." The Alchemist said looking at Chiro.

Chiro scratched his chin and smiled.

"Aw come on...anyway! Anyway! Mandarin is still depressed about it, he hasn't come out of his room in two days." He explained.

The Alchemist felt his heart ache hearing how depressed his first child was.  
He then stood up.

"I think I should talk to him." He said.

Otto titled his head.

"How?" He asked.

The Alchemist then turned to Sprx, who blinked in confusion.

* * *

Mandarin laid on his side, facing away from the door. He kept stroking his bump, trying to soothe the kicks.

 _"How are they not blaming me for what I've done? I've created their biggest enemy and yet they still treat me so kindly? I don't understand it at all."_ He thought to himself before closing his eyes.

Mandarin opened his eyes again when he heard several knocks at the door.

"Mandarin? It's me." Sprx voice chirped.

Mandarin didn't respond.

"Listen I know how you feel. How you and Trent feel actually and believe me I know the pain doesn't go away super quickly. However I think if you actually let people in to help you, it can go away a lot quicker. I didn't let anyone in for a while during the war and it nearly cost me." Sprx sighed.

"So please let us help you two."

Mandarin didn't respond, he could only quietly think about what he said. He then heard Sprx sigh loudly.

"Okay you can try to talk to him. He's really stubborn."

"Oh I know, believe me I know." Another voice chuckled, a voice Mandarin didn't recognize and yet felt so familiar.

The door then opened and shut.

"Oh what have I done to you?" He heard the voice mutter.

Mandarin looked off to the side, before soon recognizing the voice. He quickly sat up and turned to the Alchemist. He smiled as Mandarin frowned slightly.

"I thought they destroyed you?" He questioned.

The Alchemist shook his head.

"No, they helped to cleanse my soul and turn me back into who I once was." He said.

Mandarin's eyes soften but he still looked away a bit.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I wanted to talk to you. The others are worried about you." The Alchemist said.

Mandarin hissed slightly and looked down.

"What is there to talk about? You know what happened, you knew who was at fault for..." Mandarin bit his lip.

The Alchemist shook his head slightly.

"Mandarin, I was also at fault." He said, causing Mandarin to perk his head up.

"The portal wasn't safe and I should have known not to place any of you near it. I did not see the consequences of my actions." The Alchemist said solemnly then looked at Mandarin in the face.

"We both are at fault." He stated but smiled.

"However, that doesn't mean I don't forgive you, because I do."

Mandarin looked around before leaning forward.

"Why?" He asked.

The Alchemist smiled and walked over to him.

"Because it all happened in the past and it's over now. Isn't that what Otto told you?"

Mandarin blinked before looking back down.

He then felt the Alchemists thin arms attempt to wrap around his neck and leaned foreword. Mandarin froze, barely moving.

"Why are you being...so nice to me?" He thought.

"It's all over now. The universe is starting to heal, people are finally at peace, and no one can be in fear of him anymore." The Alchemist sighed, stroking the top of Mandarin's head.

"Everyone here forgives you and loves you. Even if you don't understand why, they want to help you. So please let them and..." He paused.

Mandarin stared at the door, tears stinging his eyes.

"Please forgive yourself."

Mandarin's breath caught in his throat as he heard that. That was it, he couldn't forgive himself most of all. He let a few tears slip before harshly wiping them away, cursed hormones. However, he then didn't really care as he let more tears fall. He held back several sobs as the Alchemist pulled away.

"I understand this won't go away quickly, however you need to let the others help you."

Mandarin grumbled slightly, wiping his eyes.

"Don't give me that, they really do care." The Alchemist huffed before smiling.

"Also, congratulations on your first child." He said.

Mandarin blinked before putting his face in his hands. Of course they'd tell him! That and the size of his stomach was a pretty big indicator of his pregnancy.

"Hush." He huffed, embarrassed as hell.

The Alchemist chuckled before getting up.

"So I take it you feel a bit better?" He asked.

Mandarin looked back at him and paused a bit.

"A little." He admitted.

The Alchemist smiled before turning to open the door.

"Now let's go and-"

Then as the door was opened Otto ran into the room and crawled onto Mandarin, despite the others pleas of waiting. He wrapped his arms around Mandarin's neck and wept. Mandarin instinctively wrapped his hands around Otto and sighed.

"I'm sorry for making you worry." Mandarin muttered.

Otto shook his head and kept hugging him, tears rolling down his face. The others peeked in, trying to see how the situation turned out.  
A small smile grew on the Alchemists face. This was such a familiar scene to him, as before after the accident he comforted Mandarin after luring him out of the vents. Then afterwards, Otto ran up to him and hugged him clearly worried. Just like now, except the huge differences in appearance.

Most of the others soon went up to him.

"Hey you doing okay?" Sprx asked.

Mandarin looked over him as Otto moved a bit. He looked at Otto, who still had a bit of tears in his eyes.

"A little bit but I'll be fine." He huffed.

Sprx nodded a bit and smiled. They then saw the other door open and a tearful Trent peeked outside. Mandarin frowned a bit.

"Hey you don't have to hide in there." He said, causing Trent to slowly come out of the room.

"I heard you come in and you just went into your room." Mandarin stated.

Trent tried to speak but no words came out. Mandarin blinked before realizing why he just went to his room. He blames himself for turning evil.

Sprx turned to him.

"Trent look, I-"

Mandarin stood up, Otto still clinging to him.

"If it's alright, I'd like to talk to Trent alone." He said.

Everyone turned to him.

"Mandarin are-are you sure?" Jinmay asked.

Mandarin nodded while Trent looked down in guilt.

"I got this." He sighed, as Otto hopped down.

He shooed everyone out and shut the door before looking at Trent.

"I...Mandarin...I did so many terrible things." Trent sniffled.

Mandarin closed his eyes.

"That's true."

Trent began to shake, trying to hold back tears in front of him.

"And I said so many horrible things, I hurt Willow, I hurt you, and I hurt the team! I even brought Diamanda back! It's all my fault!" He choked, biting back tears.

Mandarin was silent before sighing.

"Do you honestly think you should regret it?" He asked, causing Trent to look up at him, eyes wide.

"Of course I should! I mean-!"

Mandarin crossed his arms.

"Did you have any control over what you did? Did anything you do while that happened was of your will alone?" He questioned, sounding serious.

Trent began to talk but paused, thinking.

"N-no...I didn't. Your clone thrusted a crystal into me." He said.

Mandarin tilted his head.

"So can you really say it was all your fault and you should regret your actions? Because even though I may have caused Skeleton King to exist, when I became corrupted the things I have done was not the fault of my own will. I had no control over the things I did or said." He said.

Trent blinked.

"And do you want to know something? I don't regret much of anything I did while I was corrupted."

Trent was taken back by this comment, as well as the others.

"You don't? Why?" Trent asked.

Mandarin sighed.

"Because why should I feel regret over things I had no control over? I mean yes some regret for hurting those close to you can still be present, but blaming yourself for everything is silly. To me anyway." He said as he walked over to Trent.

He placed a hand on Trent's shoulder, causing him to jump slightly.

"So don't be all depressed over something you couldn't control. Nothing you did was your fault." Mandarin stated.

Trent looked up at him, tears filling his eyes.

"You don't have to cry about it. It's fine now." Mandarin sighed before smiling.

"You cried, shush." Trent huffed, wiping his eyes.

Mandarin flinched and looked away.

"Mood swings." He excused.

"Uh huh." Trent huffed but smiled, averting his eyes.

"I guess you're right, I mean...I still feel bad." He said before looking up.

"However I couldn't control anything...thanks." He said.

Mandarin slightly nodded as Trent frowned slightly.

"I'm sorry about what happened with you and that guy...it's good that he forgives you." Trent said.

Mandarin felt a flash of guilt.

"True, but I need to forgive myself the most." He said.

Trent nodded, sounds like he needs to do that with himself too. He then gasped.

"Oh no! I was pitying myself so much I forgot to ask how Willow was!" He exclaimed.

Mandarin snickered before going over to the door.

"I'm sure she's fine. We should ask anyway just in case." He said, opening it and causing most of the others to fall to the floor.

"Also hi."

The Alchemist chuckled as the others stumbled up. A sense of relief came over the group as the two's spirits were somewhat lifted back up. There was still some heartache but as the saying goes, time heals all wounds.

* * *

Awww well at least that's over for the time being. Thanks for reading!


	21. Chapter 21

Here is another chapter! Mall edition! Fun times will be had in another long ass chapter, so enjoy.

* * *

Arwen and Brittany entered the command center, Arwen holding a bouquet of morning glories. She looked over at Amanda, who got up and walked over to her.

"So how is she?" Brittany asked.

"Still out cold, but she'll probably wake up soon." Amanda answered, shrugging.

Arwen nodded.

"I'll put these beside her." She said as she went into the med bay.

Brittany and Amanda stood there awkwardly.

"So uh...since you got powers too I guess...what are they?" Amanda asked.

Brittany smiled a bit.

"I can make various weapons, I got light powers, I can turn invisible, I can teleport, and I got eye beams." She explained.

Amanda's mouth dropped a bit.

"Maaan that's a lot!" She breathed.

Brittany shrugged.

"Sueronians tend to have a lot of powers, and even then they're kind of fake and just created into the jewel."

Amanda nodded slightly.

"So if we switch jewelry or something does that mean we can switch powers?" Amanda asked, excited.

Brittany put a hand to her chin, her eyebrows burrowing together. That was a very good question

"You know I never thought of that. Maybe we could try that out sometime!"

Amanda smiled.

"Yeah that sounds fun!" She said as she heard some whooshing behind her.

She turned to see the others plus Mandarin and Trent enter the room. She quickly ran over to Trent and hugged him.

"Trent!"

Trent hugged back.

"I'm sorry about what happened back there Amanda. I mean I shouldn't have-"

Amanda shook her head.

"No no it's fine. Don't worry about it." She said before looking up at Mandarin.

"Are...are you doing okay?" She asked, feeling sympathy.

Mandarin nodded slightly.

"A little, but I'll be fine." He said.

Amanda smiled and nodded.

The Alchemist looked down as Nova ran up to him, smiling.

"So how long are you staying here for?" She asked.

The Alchemist patted her head.

"For a few days, then I have to go to Pentagore 3 for research." He said.

"Aww." Otto grumbled.

"I'm sorry but I still have so many things left to do. I wish I could stay longer." The Alchemist sighed.

"Still a few days is nice enough." Nova pointed out and he nodded slightly.

"That is true, and that way next year I get to see another little person roaming here." He said looking at Mandarin.

"Oh there will be no roaming for this child in this robot. There are too many dangerous places she might end up." Mandarin huffed, one hand on his stomach.

"Don't worry we'll baby proof it, you big worrier." Sprx huffed.

"I have every right to be worried!"

"Anyway! I'm going to see how Willow is." Trent said, going into the med bay.

"Yell if she wakes up!" Brittany called to him as everyone settled down and waited.

Willow was still unconscious as Trent walked in. He looked at Gibson, who looked very relieved to see him.

"Trent are you-?"

"I'm fine, how's Willow?" He quickly asked.

Arwen patted her daughter's head.

"Unconscious but fine. That battle really took a lot out of her." She sighed.

Trent sat down next to her and Antauri and stared at Willow.

"I had no idea you guys were Sueronians. I mean I heard of them but I never thought my friends were one of them." He berated before flinching.

"Not that it's a bad thing!"

Arwen smiled but her smile soon dropped.

"That's ok Trent, I was hesitant tell them because of the hunters. Now I wished I would have told them sooner." She sighed.

"Don't blame yourself, you were one looking out for their safety." Antauri said.

Arwen nodded a bit.

"All I want now is for her to wake up, then maybe we can try to move on from this and when we tell her...I don't know." She sighed then looked at Trent.

"Are you sure you're okay? I heard that you...were really upset when you woke up." Arwen said with concern.

Trent nodded a bit.

"Yeah, Mandarin talked to me and I'll be fine. He's fine too, he just...needed to have someone talk to him." He said before Arwen asked anything else.

Antauri peeked outside and saw Mandarin complaining about something.

"That's very good. I'm glad you two are feeling better about what happened." He said before looking at Willow.

"I just hope that she doesn't feel too upset over it." He said.

Gibson nodded and walked over to him.

"She'll be fine Antauri. Now come on, you've been in this room a lot for the past few days. I think it's time we let her rest for a while." He said.

Antauri hesitated, staring at Willow and having a warm feeling burning in his chest before looking at Gibson.

"Alright." He said before everyone left the med bay.

"No, I refuse!" Mandarin huffed.

Nova rolled her eyes.

"Come on, a baby shower isn't going to kill you." She sighed.

Brittany smiled happily, bouncing a bit.

"They're so much fun! I have a cousin that had one and it was super cute!"

Mandarin frowned at her.

"Goodie for you, but I hate them." Mandarin huffed.

"Come on how are you going to get gifts for the kid for free if you don't have one?" Sprx asked.

Mandarin leaned foreword, an eyebrow raised.

"I've been getting free gifts from the family and I keep getting them! No matter how many times I say they don't have to do that, they still do it. So other than free things why should I have one?" He asked.

"Just for the experience alone. Come on a baby shower is a tradition." Arwen said, sitting down.

Mandarin looked over at her.

"A tradition I am prepared to break! They're so annoying and the games are terrible!" He huffed, while Amanda slightly nodded.

Gibson huffed and looked at the Alchemist.

"Please help us with this." He sighed.

The Alchemist raised his hands.

"Once Mandarin has made up his mind on things such as this, it is very hard to change it." He chuckled.

Mandarin crossed his arms.

"Basically. So I refuse to have one, and don't you dare throw a surprise party on me because if you do-!" Mandarin growled, fists shaking.

Chiro sighed, already planning one in his head.

"Fine you big jerk, we won't have one." He said before side winking to the others.

"D-don't wink at them! I mean it!" Mandarin snapped.

Nova slowly nodded.

"No no we get it." She said, holding back a smile.

Mandarin groaned slightly, he knew he was going to get it later. He just needed a plan to escape from it.

* * *

After several minutes, Willow slowly opened her eyes and groaned. She sat up and rubbed her forehead, nursing the growing migraine. What happened? It was all one massive blur. One minute she was tied to an altar, then attacked the team while being Diamanda, then nothing. She looked outside and saw the others sitting around, chatting quietly. However two people stood out to her. One was Brittany, who made Willow extremely confused. She was talking to Gibson vividly about something and he seemed to be enjoying whatever it was she was talking about. The other person was a tall man in a dark blue cloak, with two different colored eyes or heterochromia as it were. He had a rather kind face as he was talking to Mandarin who, as always, looked like a giant grump butt. Who was this guy?

Then her eyes made it to Antauri, who just sat back and enjoyed the calm mood around him. She smiled, he was ok! She wobbled out of the med bay, causing Arwen to look up at her.

"Willow's awake!" She announced as everyone turned to her.

Except for Mandarin and the Alchemist, everyone ran over to her and hugged her.

"Guys! Can't breath!" She wheezed, having everyone let go of her.

"So um...do you remember anything?" Jinmay asked.

Willow shook her head slightly.

"Only a few things here and there but after Antauri tried to talk to me, I don't know what happened after that." She said.

Brittany and Arwen side glanced each other. Looks like they'll have to tell her again.

She sighed and looked around until her eyes laid on Brittany.

"You..." She began as she walked to her.

"Now look, Brittany tried to help you-!" Amanda began but Willow was already right up at her face.

Brittany gulped, unsure what to say.

"I-I-"

"I heard what you said, about how you never wanted to bully me and only wanted to help. That my powers somehow made you hate me. Why?" Willow asked, a serious look on her face.

Brittany side glanced Arwen, but she mouthed, 'Let's wait a bit longer'.

Brittany sighed.

"I guess there's another aspect of your powers that made me act that way. I never wanted to but something made me do it." She explained.

Willow searched her face to see if she was lying. She then closed her eyes and sighed.

"I guess I can believe you...and erm thank you for trying to save me I guess." She grumbled, scratching her chin.

Brittany nodded slightly.

Willow then turned to the others and quickly hugged Trent.

"You're back!" She sniffled.

Trent nodded and hugged her back.

"I'm sorry Willow."

"Don't! You have nothing to be sorry for." Willow huffed.

Trent nodded and the two let go.

"I'm just happy you're back with us, I don't know what'd I do without my best friend." She said, wiping a tear.

Trent nodded, feeling the same way.

She turned to everyone else.

"Thank you so much for everything." She said.

She then felt a huge weight on her head as Mandarin placed an arm on it.

"You're a lot of trouble, you know that?" Mandarin huffed, but smirked.

Willow looked up at him and smirked back.

"Hey, so are you, you jerk." She said, pointing up at him.

Mandarin rolled his eyes as the Alchemist went over to them.  
Willow looked at him in confusion.

"So um..."

He took his hand out.

"I'm the Alchemist. I created the monkey team." He greeted.

Willow's eyes widened in realization as she shook his hand.

"Oh yeah! You used to be the Skeleton King right?" She asked as he nodded.

Willow did hear a lot about the Alchemist and Skeleton King back on Natulis when the news of the war ending came up. So she was rather surprised that she was actually meeting him in person.

"At one point yes, but thanks to them I'm back to who I once was." He said, looking at the team.

Willow smiled a bit, she wished she would have seen it.

Antauri floated over to her.

"Since you are awake and everyone is well, we should celebrate in some way." He said.

Before Mandarin could interject an idea on staying inside and actually relaxing for once, Otto chimed in saying, "We should go out for tonight!"

Everyone agreed, while Mandarin was internally complaining.

"Where though? There aren't a lot of restaurants that'll fit Mandarin." Nova said.

Amanda looked around excitedly, an idea already in her head.

"Mall! Mall! Mall! Mall!" She chanted while some of the others groaned.

"Come on Amanda, we should go somewhere nicer than a mall." Gibson huffed.

"Yes can we please? Like staying inside, that's a good idea to me." Mandarin chirped.

Sprx nodded, relaxing DID sound like a nice idea.

"Nah I think it's a good idea, they just put in a new restaurant in. We should go check it out. Besides there may be some shopping we'll have to get done." Chiro said.

Almost everyone agreed. Mandarin and Sprx looked at each other tiredly before looking back at the others.

"We're not getting out of this are we?" Sprx asked.

Antauri shook his head, causing Mandarin to groan.

"Fine, but I won't like it." He huffed before turning and going back down to his room.

"We'll be leaving in ten minutes!" Nova called after him.

Otto was clearly happy, they were letting him go outside more and more. So that was good at least, and he gets to enjoy whatever restaurant that's at the mall.

Sprx sighed, can't they just stay in and relax for a while?

* * *

As soon as the team got there, they were bombarded by fans, happily talking with them about random things and gushing to their heroes. Some of the other citizens looked at Mandarin wearily before continuing on.

Mandarin, Arwen, Trent, Willow, Brittany, and Amanda stood a ways back as they kept talking.

Chiro looked back at them.

"You guys can go wander around for a while! We'll meet at the new RoseBurrow in one hour." He called out to them.

Amanda quickly turned and walked off to the nearest fashion store without a second thought, Arwen following behind just to make sure her daughter didn't spend too much money. Willow stared at the others, kinda jealous of how much love from the masses they get. Then again, they did save the galaxy and she had barely begun such tasks. She smiled at Antauri, who was calmly talking to a group of philosophy scholars.

Willow sighed and looked up at Mandarin, Brittany, and Trent.

"Well I'm gonna look around, Trent you wanna come with?" She asked, clutching to her purse.

Trent nodded slightly but Mandarin sighed.

"I think I'm going to go by myself for a bit." He said.

Willow nodded.

"Okay, we'll meet you at the restaurant!" She said before the two began to walk away.

They turned to Brittany, who looked around, trying to find a store suited to her high tastes.

Willow waved her hand, urging her to follow. Brittany blinked in confusion before following.

"Are you going to make me dress up in goth clothes or something?" She asked.

"No, and don't call them goth clothes!"

"Then...what are they?"

"You two, please."

Mandarin turned and began to walk off too.

"Wait!" Chiro called out, causing Mandarin to turn to him.

He held out a small card.

"In case you want to buy something, you can use my card for now." He said.

Mandarin shook his head.

"N-no I don't want to, it's your money.."

Chiro shook his head and kept holding it out.

"It's fine, my points will be refilled by next week. Besides you might want to buy some stuff for the baby." He said.

Mandarin hesitated, really not like doing this. He took the card and placed it in his storage.

"I...I guess."

Chiro smiled.

"Go on, have a bit of fun. We'll meet up at RoseBurrow." He said.

Mandarin nodded and walked away, really not liking the idea of spending Chiro's money at all.

Trent grabbed the nearest banjo in the music store they were in and began strumming it wildly.

"I want the world to buuuuurn!" He sang, causing Willow to laugh and playfully punch him in the arm.

"Put that back you goof!" She giggled.

"No, I think I'm gonna buy this." He said, looking at the price.

Willow put her hands up and walked off.

"Then waste your money however you please!" She sighed.

Brittany looked over the various CDs, picking some albums up and glancing at the titles.

Willow peeked over at her selections and her eyes widened.

"Woah, I never thought you would pick classical." She muttered.

Brittany frowned.

"What you think I would just pick country music or something?" She asked.

Willow shrugged.

"I just never saw you listening to other genres before, I know you once tried to get that annoying top 40 song to the DJ at prom." She said.

Brittany raised an eyebrow.

"That's because my 'friends' wouldn't shut up about it. I actually have a articulate taste you know." She huffed.

Willow blinked, that wasn't what that word meant but whatever.

"Well that's good you're into so many genres, I'm probably gonna get this." She said, picking up an album with the artists called, 'The Ravens'.

Brittany nodded and picked up the same album. Willow looked confused.

"Wait you're getting that too?"

Brittany shrugged.

"Sure?"

Willow raised her eyebrows and nodded slightly.

"Okay then, didn't expect that."

Brittany sighed loudly.

"Look just because I was a popular girl back then doesn't mean I don't like music like this. Widen your horizons a bit." She huffed.

"I didn't say that!"

"Well that's what you were implying!"

Trent then bursted between them.

"Guess who got himself a banjo!" He chirped, trying to ease the tension.

Willow blinked before sighing.

"Oh my god Trent really?"

"Hey you said I could waste my money however I please! Now I got a banjo." He said with a smirk.

Brittany leaned a bit.

"Why did you buy it?" She asked.

"Why shouldn't I buy it is the proper question!" Trent said, holding the instrument close to him.

"But seriously, music is like my life force."

Willow rolled her eyes but smiled as she walked to the cashier.

Trent turned to Brittany.

"So uh...what's your favorite Ravens song?" He asked.

"I like 'Violet Nightshades'." Brittany replied, smiling.

Willow watched the two as she made her purchase. Brittany was much less bitchy than on Natulis, she wasn't calling her a freak or whatever. She was actually trying to be civil...despite that little tense argument over music interests.

That was a first for her, not unlike back then. She remembered the time where Brittany teased her mercilessly for her uncle showing up at her father daughter dance until she basically congratulated her father's mugger for what he did. That resulted in a fight between the two that got both of them suspended. Shit like that doesn't go away and yet Brittany feels actual guilt and wants to make amends.  
Willow bit her lip, she doesn't know if she could do that just yet. She didn't know if she could even forgive her just yet. When her mom, Brittany, and herself all talk about this, there better be a damn good explanation for why Brittany did the things she did.  
All of this seemed so confusing to her. However for now she has to be civil to her, for now.

The three left the music store and continued their way to other stores, Brittany keeping up being civil and attempting to get along with Willow.

For the most part as they stopped by an alternative clothing store and she whined.

"You said widen your horizons!"

"I meant for music!"

Trent groaned.

"Guys please."

* * *

Mandarin blinked. Okay he was lost now, that much he knew. He looked over the mall's map, unsure of where he was right now.

Level 1...Section B, Green?! Who comes up with these names?!

Who cares! He was close to RoseBurrow and that's all that mattered as he looked around at the various stores with the clean cut structures and greatly themed interior. He would be feeling nostalgic but he was so confused and tired he couldn't muster the feeling as he looked somewhere to rest for a second.

No bench would work because he would just destroy it on impact and sitting on the no doubt clean but still germ covered floor from customers was a no either. Mandarin decided to just lean against the wall under a large screen ad for the time being and look around. From the outside, RoseBurrow had a dark red structure and dimmed lights. He figured dinner might be expensive just from the appearance alone, but he could be wrong.

He then noticed a furniture store not too far from here. He could use a few different items for the unfinished room...including a kitchen table that he was having a hard time finding online. Mandarin then shook his head, no way! He was not going to spend anything on Chiro's card! Nothing!

Then he looked back at the entrance. It wouldn't hurt just to peek...just a bit. As he edged towards the entrance, the awkwardness of how much he stood out was beginning to really get to him. The other citizens staring at him warily and just his overall hugeness was awkward in it of itself.

Perhaps if Otto was here then maybe-no! No, Mandarin was independent! He could go into stores without any one's help. Mandarin entered the store and wearily looked around.

There weren't too many people inside, thank goodness. However he still had to avoid banging into things and knocking stuff over. He sighed as he made note of several items that would be nice to have, including a vast variety of kitchen tables.

Mandarin noticed one that had a restaurant booth like structure and thought about it...until he saw the price and 'noped' his way away from it. The citizens nearby mostly glanced at him every now and then and quickly looked away to avoid eye contact and the employees were unsure of how to approach him. At least they were leaving him alone for the time being.

There was another one with a white and brown decor with it and a long table. He looked at the price and sighed. At least this one was in his price range, maybe he could talk to Antauri about this one. He began to leave after noting a few more items of furniture when he came across the large wall ornaments section.

Oh yeah, he still hasn't made a proper purchase on one did he? Mandarin looked around before going through it. There were a few that were decent, like ones with various quotes and even lanterns, and some that are just abstract and strange. Like an ornament with a woman and a man with a bat for a face. Seriously?

Mandarin gently looked through each one until a big one caught his eye. It was a huge ornament of a golden cobra, mouth open in a threatening expression. That was amazing! He quickly looked at the price and a smile grew across his face at just how cheap it was for him! And he didn't even have to order it and wait several days! He can just take it home now! Oh how his child will love such an kick ass ornament! It was like his whole world lit up just because of this amazing ornament! He completely forgot about not buying anything on Chiro's card at this point, besides it was rather cheap!

"Perfect!" He chirped as he picked it up.

He looked around, hoping for a self checkout but his joy was soon crushed by the realization that he would have to face the checkout lady. Oh the awkwardness this would bring to him.

Mandarin gulped as he edged his way towards the checkout counter before setting the ornament down.

The check out lady nervously looked up at him and gulped.

"U-uh s-so did you find everything ok?" She asked as she scanned the ornament.

Mandarin looked around awkwardly, not moving his head.

"Erm yes." He muttered, taking out the card Chiro gave him.

The checkout lady took the card and swiped it.

"Erm d-do you need help with-?"

Mandarin shook his head and opened his storage, which was big enough for the cobra ornament.

"No it's fine." He said as he placed the ornament inside.

The lady couldn't help but not contain her shock.

"I-uh have a nice day." She stuttered.

Mandarin nodded and without thinking said, "You too."

He mentally cursed himself for saying such weird things as he left. The check out lady leaned forward watching him leave.

"That was...awfully polite of him." One citizen piped up as he walked to the checkout counter.

The lady nodded, feeling slightly less awkward than before. Maybe he wasn't such a total jerk as everyone pegged him to be.

Mandarin left and checked the time, he had around fifteen minutes left before everyone showed up. Perhaps he should wait by the restaurant. He walked towards it when he passed a particular store that made him stop and back up a bit.  
Cribs, playpens, and other baby related items galore. Mandarin froze as his face grimaced. The baby store looked so tempting to him,and being pregnant surely wasn't helping. He almost turned towards it but he shook his head and walked a few steps before looking back. A few beads of sweat appeared on his forehead as he kept staring, the temptation growing.

"No, I am not going in there. I already have spent more money on Chiro's card and I would feel terrible if I spent anymore" he thought, his will in turmoil.

"No...nope...I don't need it...I don't need it...no...no...no..."

* * *

Mandarin openly sobbed at the table, having quite a few bags from the baby store on the floor.

"Mandarin, it's fine." Antauri said, trying to cheer him up.

"I'm sorry! I couldn't help it! It was like some sort of evil force controlling me to go in and buy their products!" Mandarin whined as he laid his head down on the table, tears streaming down his face.

Chiro laughed.

"Mandarin I said you could buy some stuff with it." He snickered.

"I didn't want to impose! I had no self control!"

"You weren't and it's fine! I still got a bit left for dinner tonight!"

Willow rolled her eyes but leaned over and patted Mandarin's arm.

Nova peeked into the bags and frowned.

"Mandarin why are you so bent on buying your daughter weird stuff?" She asked as she picked up a toy camera.

Mandarin raised an eyebrow at her.

"So having a toy camera is weird now?" He asked, his mood quickly changing.

"For a newborn maybe!"

"In case you forgot, Tabithian newborns aren't exactly normal." Mandarin huffed.

"Eh true."

Willow snickered as Trent then showed off his new banjo, getting confused stares from everyone. She sipped her soda and sighed. Things were finally peaceful again, for the most part. However she felt weird ever since she woke up. She felt Diamanda's emotions and they were confused. What happened that made her take back control? It wasn't a declaration of love or anything, that she would have heard. But what?

Mandarin glanced over at her as he was pulling out the ornament he bought earlier.

"Mandarin you are not gonna put that up in the nursery!" Gibson gasped.

"Oh yes I am. My child, her room, she will love it." He smirked.

Otto smiled a bit, it does look cool! But maybe a bit scary for a baby, then again it was going to be Mandarin's kid. She might end up loving it.

The Alchemist laughed as Antauri sighed.

"Don't you think that will be too frightening for an infant?" He asked,

Mandarin rolled his eyes as he placed the ornament back in his storage.

"Please, like she'll even know what's frightening and what isn't. Who knows she may like it." Mandarin said as he sipped his water.

"Yeah because a giant cobra isn't scary at all. Unlike that duck ornament you threw away." Chiro sighed.

"I am not putting anything too kiddish in her room! I won't let her succumb to such idiocy." Mandarin huffed.

Arwen sighed.

"It is his nursery, might as well let it go." She said.

Everyone agreed and continued to enjoy themselves. Otto curled up next to Mandarin and vividly talked to him about what else to put in the nursery, as well as other rooms. Chiro sipped his drink before feeling another presence near them.

"Um excuse me?"

Chiro and the others turned to see a small group of people gathered near them.

"Oh boy more people." Willow thought, before sipping her soda again.

One of them looked around before looking at Willow.

"U-um is it ok if I have your autograph?" She asked.

Willow blinked.

"What?"

The girl smiled and stepped foreword.

"Is that ok? Because I know you really haven't been on a lot of missions with the team but I still think you're pretty cool."

Willow blinked again, unsure of what to say. She thinks she's cool?

"Uh sure." She said as the girl handed her a small notebook.

Back home on Natulis, no one would have ever treated her this kindly. Her father was a part of the planets' heroes but no one seemed to care. Now on Shuggazoom she was treated so kindly.  
She felt less alone, especially with the Hyperforce and Antauri.

Mandarin looked on, kinda happy for her in a way. She was getting some good attention from the citizens, that's great.

A small child then snuck away while the group talked to the team and sat down near Mandarin. He didn't even noticed the kid until he looked up at him and asked, "Why does your armor look like a swim suit?"

Mandarin jumped at the voice a bit and looked down.

"I...what?"

The kid looked his armor closely.

"I mean it kinda looks like one. Like a bikini or somethin'." He said and Sprx was doubled over laughing.

Mandarin held the bridge of his nose and pointed at the Alchemist.

"You would have to ask him about that." He huffed.

The Alchemist held back some snickers.

"The Skeleton King had Sakko create the armor...he ordered him to make it powerful." He chuckled.

"Really? Sakko of all people?! He wears a crop top and a skirt and Skeleton King trusted him in creating this?" Mandarin asked, motioning to his armor.

The Alchemist laughed a bit but nodded.

"Sakko was very passionate about his tastes Mandarin."

"He made bikini armor!" Mandarin exclaimed, causing the others to laugh as well.

The child snickered too at his reaction. Mandarin turned to him.

"So to answer your question, it's because of a tiny evil monkey with poor fashion tastes." He said.

The kid giggled but nodded. Chiro smiled, at least some citizens were starting to warm up to him.

* * *

Later that night after most people went to bed, Trent was walking back down to his room when Willow rushed up next to him.

"Trent wait!"

He turned to her.

"Yeah? What's up?" He asked.

Willow walked up to him.

"You doing okay?" She asked.

Trent wasn't sure how to answer, he did feel a bit better. Yet there were still some parts of him that were still feeling incredible guilt. He knew he wasn't alone as he saw Otto hopping onto Mandarin and asking him the same question.

"I will be, don't worry." He said as Otto snuggled with him.

Trent smiled sadly before hugging Willow.

"I will be." He said softly.

Willow closed her eyes and hugged him tight, feeling so terrible for them. There was still a lot of healing to do.

* * *

Naww my tiny electric son. How he is so precious to me. And the baby shower thing...that's gonna be a fun chapter. Thanks for reading!


	22. Chapter 22

I am so sorry I haven't updated last week! I had finals and work but I have a week off and next semester I have only two classes and the second one doesn't even start until June. So here's this chapter to keep you busy until me and my friend edit a bit more. Please enjoy!

* * *

Skelemandarin kicked several things around in frustration.

"I can't believe she got away from us because she's a Sueronian or whatever!" He yelled.

Sage rested back on a bench, watching him throw a temper tantrum.

"Come on, at least they're not here anymore."

"Yeah no thanks to you! Having us retreat and having us loose Diamanda like that!" Skelemandarin snapped.

Sage shrugged.

"We were losing. Diamanda would have given Willow control and we needed to escape to think of another plan." He said.

Skelemandarin turned to him, hands on his bony hips.

"And what is your plan? Remember I am still in charge so it better be good!" He huffed.

Sage put up a finger and smirked.

"Be patient, if we're going to take over Shuggazoom we'll need a foolproof plan." He said.

"And that is?" Skelemandarin asked.

Sage thought on it.

"Well we could just plan a full invasion and just use the girl's powers for our means." He suggested.

Skelemandarin felt skeptical.

"You know the girl's friends would come and rescue her." He said.

Sage chuckled and got up.

"I didn't mean Willow."

Skelemandarin frowned.

"If you're talking about her sister-!"

Sage groaned.

"No you moron, I mean Diamanda! There's still a chance to harness her powers!" He huffed.

Skelemandarin frowned. How? Since she found out she was a Sueronian wouldn't she no longer want to work on their side?

"Go on." He said.

Sage then began to pace around the room.

"Well think of it like this, Diamanda is in a state of confusion and identity crisis. She would want to split from Willow and try to find herself or some crap, right?"

Skelemandarin nodded slightly before smiling.

"Oh I see! Then we capture her and use her powers somehow to destroy Shuggazoom! That is a good plan!" He added.

Sage snapped his fingers.

"Now you're getting it! Now we need to figure out the rest." He said, a hand on his chin.

Skelemandarin thought on it.

"The army would have to be rebuild and that'll take a while...that and we would need a full battle plan for when we do invade. However we don't have that kind of time." He sighed.

Sage turned to him.

"Why don't we?"

Skelemandarin looked up at him and huffed.

"Because! I want to finish what I started in the war and I refuse to wait!" He snapped.

Sage leaned down to him and bopped his snout.

"You need to be patient. We'll win this battle, we just need enough time to make every detail perfect." He said then sneered.

"Besides, we should give those fools a few more months of peace. They are preparing for a child after all." He chuckled darkly.

The clone smirked, he was right.

"I suppose I can wait a little while longer. Oh the joy I will have once I have my vengeance!" He cackled as Sage sighed.

Bad guys and their evil laughs.

* * *

After a few calm days, the Alchemist was beginning to leave. Otto clung to him, sniffling.

"Don't worry Otto, I will return next year. Besides I'll still keep in touch with all of you." He said before looking at everyone.

Nova wiped her eyes but nodded.

"It was nice meeting you." Willow said, smiling a bit.

The Alchemist nodded.

"Same to you, I do hope to see you next year." He said.

He then walked to the tube after Mandarin took Otto away.

"And I do apologize that Mandarin's clone is causing so much trouble." The Alchemist said, a sad look on his face.

Chiro waved his hand.

"Don't worry, it's nothing we can't handle." He said with a smile.

The Alchemist nodded.

"I know...he could have been so much more." He muttered.

Mandarin perked his head as Otto wrapped his arms around his neck.

"What was that?" He asked.

The Alchemist looked up and chuckled.

"Nothing, nothing. Anyways see you all later." He said as he went down the tube.

Everyone said their goodbyes as Nova wiped her eyes. Sprx went over to her and wrapped an arm around her.

"He'll be back next year." He said and Nova nodded.

Mandarin sighed as Otto continued to cling to him.

"That was nice you got to meet him." He chirped.

"I guess." Mandarin said.

It was nice...but he couldn't help but feel that his time with the Alchemist would be short. Also what did he mean by 'he could have been so much more'? Ugh more questions.

"Well now what?" Willow asked, turning to Antauri.

Antauri put a hand to his chin.

"Hmmm, we could do some training. Then after that it's up to everyone else." He said.

Nova nodded and stretched.

"Yeah, I need to kick some butt today or I'll get antsy." She said.

"Indeed, we need to be prepared in case Mandarin 2 and Sage try anything." Gibson said.

Everyone agreed.

"I wish you could come Mandarin, but uh it'd be pretty dangerous for you right now." Otto muttered, patting his face.

Mandarin sighed, after the child is born he will really have to catch up.

"It's fine, besides I need to take my supplements anyway. Then I need to take a shower and put up my child's new ornament up." Mandarin chirped.

Gibson sighed.

"Your poor daughter is going to be so frightened by that thing." He said.

Mandarin rolled his eyes.

"Sure she will."

Otto leaned his head under Mandarin's chin.

"You smell good anyway. Like ginger cookies." He chirped, causing Mandarin to blush lightly.

"Otto, I feel gross, I have to."

"You still smell good." Otto chirped.

"Otto no." Mandarin wheezed.

"Otto yes."

Sprx snickered loudly.

"Come Otto we gotta get to training, you can play with your boyfriend later." He snickered.

Otto giggled and nodded.

"'Kay! See you later!" He said before kissing Mandarin's cheek and jumping off, leaving him and Gibson petrified in shock.

"What-?!" Gibson exclaimed as Sprx led him out.

"Training!" Chiro said, confused as hell.

After everyone left Mandarin stood in the command center, frozen.

"What was that?!" He questioned.

* * *

Several minutes into training and Nova and Amanda were sparring. Amanda backed up before charging at Nova with an ice pick.

"Great form Amanda!" Willow called out as the two kept sparring.

Otto guzzled down some water, exhausted.

"Man Antauri! You can really kick my butt!" He exclaimed.

Antauri chuckled.

"Thank you Otto, you have improved quite well." He said.

Otto nodded and kept drinking water before he felt Gibson poke him.

"Otto may I speak to you? Alone?" He asked, looking serious.

Otto looked to the others before looking at Gibson, feeling a little worried.

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked.

Gibson's eyes softened and he shook his head.

"No of course not. I just wanted to ask you about something." He said.

Otto looked around before nodding slightly.

"Okay..." He said as Gibson pulled him aside.

Gibson was silent for a second before inhaling and exhaling.

"Otto there's something I want to know that's been circling the past few months or so." He said.

Otto blinked.

"Okay."

Gibson stared at him, right in the eye.

"What are your feelings on Mandarin?" He asked.

Otto moved back a bit, surprised by the question.

"What do you mean? He's my buddy." He said.

Gibson shook his head.

"No no no, I mean how you really feel. Describe it to me." He said.

Otto snickered, this was a weird question.

"Okay um...where?"

Gibson sighed, irritated.

"Start with the things you like about him!"

Otto smiled.

"That's easy! He tries to be a big mean jerk to everyone when really he's just a awkward sweetie. He really sells that personality and it's just so fun to watch him get flustered over the smallest of things." He began and Gibson nodded.

"He also is one of the most bravest and selfless people I've ever met, I mean who else would not only get pregnant but with a kid whose parents are gone, all for their family. I mean it's incredible and he's even going so far as to raise the baby by himself. That's amazing and I don't know if I could even do something like that." Otto softly said.

"Mandarin's also snuggly and just fun to be around. He's also super strong in every way and he makes me want to be around him and he makes me laugh so much." Otto went on, slowly beginning to realize where this conversation was going.

His chest began to warm up.

"He makes me so...happy." Otto breathed.

Otto was silent, realization hitting him. Just as Gibson thought, he's in love with him. He wasn't sure he was exactly happy with it, since Mandarin was such a brute. However, if it'll make Otto happy then it was fine with him.

Gibson smiled as Otto put hands on his face.

"Oh my god Gibson." He wheezed.

"I know." Gibson snickered.

"I just kissed his cheek as a joke, just to be friendly. But now-!" Otto's eyes were wide as Gibson snickered.

"I have a crush on my best friend what do I do?!" He wheezed, leaning on Gibson as they walked back.

"Telling him about your feelings is one thing." Gibson sighed.

Otto's eyes widened.

"Noooo I can't do that! Not yet!" He wheezed again as they sat down.

Jinmay looked over at him.

"Otto are you ok?" She asked.

Gibson sighed and patted Otto's head.

"He'll be fine, he just had a revelation is all." He said.

Otto stared at the floor as Gibson and Chiro were to spar next. Oh god, he really is in love with him.

* * *

Mandarin pondered as to where the cobra ornament at. He could put it over the playpen but he felt that it would look much better over the crib instead. It just looked so much cooler!

Mandarin drew small lines around the area he wanted to place the ornament at and made a mental note to have Otto help him set it up. He placed the ornament on the floor before wiping his face with the towel he had wrapped around his neck.

Things were finally starting to settle a bit, and that's good because he needed to relax for a while. Especially with the whole Alchemist thing. He then heard the door opened and he turned to Arwen.

"Oh! I'm sorry I didn't know if you were busy or not." She said.

Mandarin shook his head.

"No it's fine. What is it?" He asked.

Arwen walked a bit more into the room.

"I just wanted to see what you were up to. I'm sorry I couldn't come here sooner but I just got off work." She sighed.

"No that's fine. I was busy making measurements for the ornament." He said.

Arwen nodded and looked over at it.

"Are you going to put it over her crib?" She asked.

Mandarin nodded, smirking.

"It will look so amazing." He sighed.

Arwen laughed and nodded.

"I bet it will!"

Mandarin looked around the room a bit more, thinking if he needed to work on anything else for the moment.

"So um...I take it you knew about Willow being a Sueronian before the battle started?" Arwen asked.

Mandarin turned to her.

"Yes."

Arwen rubbed her arm.

"So I guess you were kind of suspicious of what was going on too, right?"

Mandarin gulped.

"I didn't mean anything by it-"

Arwen put her hands up in defense.

"Oh I know you didn't! To be honest I'd be suspicious too if all of a sudden a new member just came in out of nowhere with amazing powers and everyone seemed to like her a lot. When Sueronians come to a specific group of people or even one person, they tend to secrete an aura that makes everyone like them at first sight." She said before sighing.

"Willow is starting to get better at that as she grows older, but it still happens without her controlling it."

She then looked up at Mandarin.

"Then there are others who aren't affected by the aura and just tend to react to their behaviors realistically. Whether they grow to like them too, be suspicious and dislike them, or just get confused all together. You aren't effected, and therefore you had to be suspicious." Arwen explained.

Mandarin blinked, that would explain a lot.

"How am I not effected?" He asked.

Arwen sighed and shrugged.

"I don't know to be honest, I guess it just happens. Either way I'm not surprised you were suspicious, I mean it's a bit comforting."

Mandarin raised an eyebrow.

"Where are you going with this?" He asked.

Arwen bit her lip and closed her eyes before looking back at Mandarin.

"I just might need a little help telling her about her origins. She might not take it that well and I'll need you to help calm her down. I mean she really trusts you and if you try to calm her down, maybe she'll listen." She suggested.

That situation alone felt unsettling, there's really no telling how Willow will react. To find out all you knew and your whole past was just make believe? It would be quite unrealistic if you would act like it doesn't bother you.

Mandarin looked off to the side before looking back at Arwen.

"I can try to." He said.

Arwen smiled, tiredness clouding her eyes.

"Thank you, I plan to tell her soon. Hopefully before Mandarin 2 or...Sage...shows up again." She sighed.

Mandarin nodded.

"Hopefully, who knows when they'll strike again."

Arwen nodded and then bit her lip, almost smirking.

"You know what we need to do right now to get our minds off this?" She asked.

Mandarin burrowed his brows.

"What?"

She then smiled.

"Make mozzarella sticks, I haven't made them in so long." She sighed happily.

Mandarin was about to decline but then he thought on it. Mozzarella does sound good right about now.

"I'm in." He said.

Arwen bounced happily.

"Great! I'll go get the box from my place!" She said before darting out of the room.

Where did she get that energy from? Aw well, a snack does sound good.

Mandarin looked down at his round stomach and stroked it.

"Come on, let's get something to eat." He muttered before leaving the room, a small smile on his face.

* * *

The Manottos are a spreadin'! That's what I like to see! Also the Sueronian stuff is really fun for me to play around with and create ideas on so yeah. Thanks for reading!


	23. Chapter 23

Now it's time for everyone's favorite fanfiction trope: Truth or dare! I mean that trope is everywhere like holy cow. I mean I get it you can have your reviewers do whatever you want with the characters or think up of hilarious things for the characters to do. And I will contribute to this trope in my own Happy way. Please enjoy!

* * *

When training ended, Nova stretched as she sipped her water.

"I don't know about you, but that was the best training session I ever had!" She sighed.

Trent wobbled in, his whole body sore. Even his eyelids were sore!

"I need to lay down." He said before collapsing in the bubble chair.

Amanda wheezed and joined him, sitting down on the floor.

"Come on it wasn't that bad." Brittany huffed.

"It hurts to move my mouth to tell you to shush." Amanda whined.

Jinmay giggled, getting them water. When she stepped into the kitchen she was confused to see Arwen and Mandarin at the table, eating mozzarella sticks.

"Uhhhh hi." She said as the two looked up.

Arwen waved and held up one of them.

"Hello Jinmay, do you want one?" She asked.

Jinmay shook her head.

"No thank you I'm good." She said as she went to grab a few water bottles.

Arwen shrugged and began to nibble on it. Mandarin finished one and was about to say something when he flinched and glared at his abdomen.

"Stop that." He huffed, placing a hand on it.

Arwen snickered as Willow entered the room and sighed.

"Cheese sticks mom? Really?" She said with disgust.

"I love these!" Arwen huffed.

Willow rolled her eyes as Mandarin stroked his stomach, grumbling.

"She hasn't stopped kicking has she?" Willow asked Mandarin.

"No...my stomach is already sore." Mandarin sighed.

Jinmay tried to reach over to feel when Mandarin pushed her hand away lightly and shook his head.

"Still not comfortable?" Willow asked as Jinmay looked disappointed.

Mandarin shook his head.

"Nope, never will be." He said.

"Then why does Otto-?"

As if on cue, Otto rushed into the room and climbed up on Mandarin.

"Hiii!" He greeted.

Mandarin wheezed a bit in surprise as the others came in.

"Don't do that!" He huffed as Otto snickered.

"Sorry, ooh can I have one?" He asked as he saw the mozzarella sticks.

Mandarin responded by shoving one into Otto's mouth. Otto snickered and ate it. Now that he realized he was in love with Mandarin, he surprisingly didn't feel nervous around him. He surprisingly felt more happy than before. However as for telling him how he felt, he really didn't feel ready for that situation yet.

Chiro sighed as Jinmay handed him a water.

"So what are we doing tonight?" He asked everyone.

Amanda stumbled in and groaned at how sore she was. She had the perfect idea!

She went over to the table and grinned.

"Sleep over night!" She declared, causing everyone to stare at her.

"Amanda, we all live in the same robot." Willow sighed.

Amanda pouted as Antauri chuckled.

"It still would be a bit fun. We could sleep in the command center." He said.

"Yeah that does sound kinda fun." Sprx said, already thinking of several embarrassing games and pranks.

Otto bounced a bit.

"I'm in!" He chirped as everyone agreed.

Mandarin sighed.

"I have too many things to do tonight, so I cannot make it." He said, receiving a groan from most of the others.

"I still have to work on the kitchen and putting up the ornament in my child's room." He said.

"The kitchen isn't even halfway done." Chiro said.

Mandarin blinked.

"I know but I still need to set up the fridge and order the kitchen table and chairs." Mandarin said.

Gibson frowned.

"Mandarin setting up the fridge might be a little bit much."

"Please! All I have to do is plug it in." Mandarin huffed.

Chiro nodded, that was true.

"Alright, but you're welcome to come up any time." He said.

Mandarin nodded as Otto pouted. It's not gonna be as fun without him.

"Then it's settled! Trent can you prepare the food?" Gibson asked.

Trent nodded.

"I'll be in charge of games!" Sprx chirped, ideas flowing.

"I can set up decorations!" Otto said.

Antauri nodded then looked at the clock.

"Then let's get started, we don't have a lot of time." He said and everyone got into gear.

Mandarin sighed as Arwen handed him the rest of the mozzarella sticks.

Something told him that tonight was going to be weird.

* * *

Everyone sat in the massive pillow fort that Otto set up.

"Messy Twister? Really?" Nova asked.

Sprx shrugged.

"It's sexy and messy!" He said with a shit eating grin, causing Nova to hit him with a pillow, snickering.

"You dork."

"Pillow fights aren't until midnight!" Chiro warned as everyone gathered around.

Willow sat down next to Antauri in her black skull pajamas. Brittany sat with Gibson in her silky pink nightgown, Amanda was in her teal green pajamas with Trent wearing a dark blue night hoodie, and Arwen was in her white pajamas. Why do they need to be in detail of what they're wearing?

...

Sprx smirked as he decided the first first game.

"Truth or dare! Who's gonna go first?" He asked.

Nova smirked at him.

"How about you?" She asked.

Sprx blinked and looked around.

"Uh heh...you sure?" He asked nervously.

Nova nodded as Jinmay leaned foreword.

"Sprx truth or dare!"

Sprx gulped.

"T-truth."

Jinmay thought on it but smiled.

"When are you going to propose to Nova?" She asked and Nova nearly choked on her soda.

Sprx's face turned a much deeper red then it was before.

"Ummmm I-I'm thinking on it." He muttered as Nova blushed a bright red.

Jinmay snickered as Sprx sighed.

"Okay! Gibson! Truth or dare?"

Gibson blinked and frowned. There was no way he was picking dare! However if he picked truth everyone would think he was a wimp.

"Dare." He breathed.

Sprx grinned widely.

"Oh I got a perfect dare for you! You have to hold worms in your hands for thirty seconds!" Sprx laughed.

Gibson recoiled in horror, regretting everything as Sprx went to get worms. Everyone snickered lightly as he came back.

"Wait where did you have a bunch of worms?" Amanda asked.

Sprx looked at her.

"They're my pets." He said before placing them in Gibson's hands.

Gibson squealed in fear as the worms squirmed.

"Don't squish Barry, Gibson!" Sprx huffed and it caused everyone to laugh.

Soon enough Sprx took the worms out of the petrified Gibson's hands. He shook as he tried to collect himself.

He turned to Trent.

"T-truth or dare?" He wheezed.

Trent smiled.

"Truth." He said.

Gibson was about to ask but then Amanda leaned foreword.

"If two people were killed on the moon-!" She began but Willow pushed her back.

Gibson huffed.

"No, what I was going to ask is if you were going to commit an illegal crime that didn't hurt no one and you didn't get caught, what would it be?" He asked.

"That's a boring question." Amanda huffed.

Trent frowned a bit.

"Like illegally streaming stuff? Like music or whatever?" He asked.

Gibson nodded.

"Then...yeah illegal streaming is what I'd do." Trent chirped.

Amanda laughed.

"You just realize you admitted this to a group of crime fighters!" She laughed as Trent's eyes widened.

Chiro laughed and waved his hand.

"It's fine don't worry!" He said, causing Trent to sigh in relief.

Trent settled down and looked who to ask next when his eyes laid on Otto. Oh he had a perfect dare for him!

"Otto! Truth or dare?" He asked, holding back a smile.

"Dare!" Otto said cheerfully.

Trent grinned and started snickering.

"O-ok I dare you to...I dare you to..." He tried to get it out in between giggles.

Otto leaned foreword, unsure if he liked this decision.

"I dare you, to go down to the underground base and kiss Mandarin." Trent dared, crossing his arms and smirking.

Otto froze for a second, sinking the dare in, before his entire face turned red.

"Wh-what?!" He yelled.

The others started laughing at his reaction, minus Antauri, who just sighed at how childish they were acting and Gibson, whose mouth hung open.

"You heard me! Go kiss him!" Trent laughed.

Otto shakily got up.

"But why?" He asked, whining a bit.

"Otto everyone in a hundred mile radius knows you like him." Sprx snickered.

Otto shook, his jaw now just as open as Gibson's.

Brittany wiggled her fingers.

"Go on, kiss your boyfriend." She chirped.

Otto gulped as he walked off, shaking in fear.

* * *

Mandarin looked over the fridge before sighing. It was finally set up, good. He made his way into the halfway done living room and sat down on the large sofa and yawned. Was he this tired already? It must be the baby wearing him out. Aw well, he got everything done so maybe later he can try to get some sleep. He then saw Otto walk into the room, his cheeks a bright red.

"Otto? I thought the sleepover was still going." Mandarin said as Otto climbed up.

"I-it is." Otto muttered.

Mandarin tilted his head, confused.

"Then what are you-?"

However Mandarin couldn't finish his sentence as a pair of lips slammed against his own. Mandarin froze in shock as he felt his whole face heat up. Otto quickly pulled away and ran off screaming, "I'm sorry!"

Mandarin sat there in complete shock of what just happened, his emotions in chaos.

"H-hey!" He yelled.

Otto ran up, hiding his face before grabbing a pillow and screaming into it, everyone dying of laughter.

"Did you see his face?!" Nova asked, laughing.

"Noooo!" Otto whined.

Antauri rolled his eyes as he patted Otto's shoulder. Gibson rubbed his temples, this is going so fast.

They heard the tube make a noise as they saw Mandarin rush into the room. His face was just as red as Otto's and he looked around the group wildly.

"Now wait! Wait a second!" He said, everyone laughing even harder.

"What just happened?! What happened?! Someone tell me right now!" Mandarin yelled, making Otto hide his face even more.

"What's wrong Mandy?" Trent asked.

"What the hell?! What the hell just happened?!" He demanded.

"T-Trent dared Otto to kiss you!" Chiro snickered.

Mandarin looked over at Trent, who was holding up a pillow as a shield.

"Thanks Chiro! Now I'm about to die!" Trent snickered.

Mandarin could only shake in response as Otto sat up. He had to change the subject and quickly.

"S-So Nova truth or-?"

Mandarin picked Otto up and began to walk off with him.

"Hey wait a second!" Willow said.

"I'm borrowing him!" Mandarin declared before going down to the underground base.

Everyone sat there, unsure of what just happened.

"Um...dare?" Nova looked around.

* * *

Otto was placed into the couch as Mandarin stared at him intently.

"M-Mandarin I'm sorry! It was a dare and I had to! I mean I'm not saying kissing you was a bad idea or anything-I mean-!"

Otto was silenced by Mandarin pressing his own lips against Otto's. Otto blinked a bit before shutting his eyes and leaning in, placing a hand on Mandarin's face. A sense of bliss came over the two as they kept kissing. They soon let go and Otto dug his face under Mandarin's head, squeaking.

Mandarin snickered, blushing.

"I thought I was gonna die!" Otto wheezed.

Mandarin snickered and held Otto close.

"That dare sounded like something school children would do! Not adults!" Mandarin snickered.

Otto laughed a bit as well before looking up at him.

"So uh...what do we do now?" He asked.

Mandarin blinked.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

Otto but his lip.

"I mean we just kissed...does that mean we...that you...well..." Otto tried to get the words out but he found it rather hard.

Mandarin thought on it, considering his options. He then sat down on the couch with him and Otto crawled up on him.

"Well I suppose we'd have to start a relationship? I mean since we both have mutual feelings of affection, right?" He inquired, stroking Otto's back with one finger.

His expression then dropped.

"I mean unless you think it'd be a bit too quick then I would understand."

Otto looked up at him and smiled.

"Mandarin we've known each other for years. I think it'll be fine, I mean we've already slept in the same bed and I've snuggled you a lot already." He said.

Mandarin nodded slightly, that was true.

"So really I guess we can. I mean I can start sleeping in your bed more." Otto chirped.

Mandarin snickered.

"Well yes, I mean I hope that's not an excuse."

"No! Of course not you goof!" Otto laughed, booping his nose.

Mandarin snickered and kissed Otto's forehead before they kissed again. Mandarin flinched and glared at his swollen stomach.

"Are you serious right now?" He huffed.

Otto giggled and went down to his stomach.

"Please leave poor mommy alone Lazuli, he was just kissing his new boyfriend." He chirped, rubbing his belly.

Mandarin snickered, somehow enjoying the attention. Otto looked up at him.

"Are you still gonna call her Lazuli? Or is there something else you had in mind?" He asked.

Mandarin shook his head.

"No, Lazuli sounds perfect." He said, placing a hand on the side of his stomach.

Otto snuggled up with him, his head on Mandarin's stomach as he stroked it gently.

"Wait don't you have a sleepover to go to?" Mandarin asked.

Otto thought on it.

"They can wait a bit longer." He chirped, smiling.

* * *

"Brittany! Truth or dare?" Jinmay asked, covered in whipped chocolate syrup.

Arwen was dared to get pizza with all sorts of ridiculous toppings, so really they could do whatever for now.

Brittany thought on her choices.

"Dare." She said.

Jinmay paused and looked at Gibson.

"I dare you to say something nice to Gibson." She chirped.

Brittany blinked, was that it?

She turned to Gibson and smiled, who looked around nervously. She decided to use a bit of her sueronian charms on him, just for fun.

"Your fur reminds me of sapphires, a gem that I personally find the most beautiful." She cooed, causing Gibson to blink wildly and his face slowly turned red.

"Pardon?!" He finally squeaked out, causing everyone to giggle.

Brittany giggled, that was actually pretty fun.

She then turned to Amanda.

"Alright Amanda, truth or dare?"

"Truth!"

Brittany began to think of several questions.

"If you could date anyone in this room, who would it be?" She asked.

Amanda glared.

"They're all either too old for me legally to date, family, or taken!" She huffed.

"Theoretically! Theoretically Amanda." Jinmay said and everyone agreed.

Amanda blinked and looked away, pointing to one particular person.

Nova pointed at herself.

"Me?!" She asked as everyone had different reactions.

"Don't you think this is a bit too girly?!" Willow asked.

Amanda laughed feeling waves upon waves of embarrassment.

"I honestly didn't know whether to pick her or Chiro." She said.

"They're both taken!" Trent reminded her.

"It was theoretical!" Amanda huffed, her face red.

"Hey don't be embarrassed!" Nova laughed.

Amanda rubbed her face as Sprx snickered.

"Hey Amanda it's ok, as someone who's been dating her for over a year I can totally understand why you'd pick her." He said, wrapping an arm around her.

Amanda held her face.

"She's just...so strong and cool."

Nova snickered as they began to move on.

Amanda sighed as she looked around. Then an idea clicked, a very fun idea clicked in her head.

"Willow...truth or dare?"

Willow blinked.

"Uh dare." She said.

Amanda grinned.

"I dare you to go into that room and make out with Antauri for two minutes!" She cackled, pointing to a room nearby.

Willow and Antauri's eyes widened at the dare.

"What?!"

Amanda laughed and fell back.

"Go kiss him!" She coughed out.

The two looked at each other and blushed immensely. Antauri tried to protest but Willow picked him up and the two walked off.

Antauri was then set on a table as Willow looked down nervously.

"Willow I-"

However before he could keep talking, Willow planted her lips on Antauri's and she wrapped her arms around him. Antauri froze before melting into the kiss, shutting his eyes.

This was all because of the dare, remember? Yet still they both admit the kiss was rather nice.

"Wait...she's a human-well...half human...still this shouldn't be happening and yet why do I feel so...right with her?" Antauri wondered as the kiss continued.

"Ughh I am so going to kick Amanda's ass later! I mean it's not like I enjoy this or anything...I mean it's not like I enjoy how soft his cold lips are...or how warm and strong he is...or how caring and understanding he is."

Then it hit the two like one of Mandarin's giant gorilla hands.

"Holy crap...I am in love with him." Willow thought.

"I...am in love with her." Antauri thought.

The thought of realization made the two's kiss even more passionate. It was then stopped as they heard a loud noise. They quickly turned to see nearly everyone looking inside the room. Willow's blood began to boil as her major pet peeve was being violated right now.

"I-uh-"

"Run!" Sprx yelled as Willow chased after them, leaving Antauri on the table.

He touched his lips and blushed. That was interesting.

Everyone ran back into the pillow fort and Willow pounced on all of them. She began to beat them senseless until she heard a loud, "Ahem!"

She turned to see Mandarin and Otto back from the underground base. Otto waved nervously.

"Uh hi, what'd I miss?" He asked.

Willow blinked until she saw how pissed off Mandarin looked. His mouth was curled into a intimidating frown and he tapped his arm with one of this huge fingers. He exhaled through his snout, eyes staring right at Willow. This caused her to gulp, he was much scarier than her mother was when she got mad.

Willow then found herself in a bubble chair, being scolded. She looked down at the floor.

"I kept saying over and over that you don't have to resort to violence, and yet you keep going back to it! Like it's some comedic antic you're all playing into! If it is, I don't find it funny!" Mandarin huffed.

Otto patted Sprx's shoulder.

"She only smacked me, I'm fine." He huffed.

Jinmay watched the situation unfold. Man, Mandarin was really peeved.

"I mean you can't go around and hit your friends! I mean I did that when I was leader and look how that turned out! At least I would have been properly dealt with if I still kept doing that!" Mandarin snapped.

"You sound like my mom." Willow grumbled.

"I'm about to be a mother in five months so I have every right to sound like one." Mandarin huffed before pausing on what he just said.

"Wait." He muttered.

Willow looked up at him.

"They still spied on me and Antauri! I mean you have to admit that was wrong!" She defended.

Mandarin sighed, this child was so difficult.

"Yes that was and I'll admit that, but you have to realize that you can't beat them up whenever they do this. If they were really trying to hurt you I could understand if you were trying to defend yourself. However they were just eavesdropping, a bad habit that should be broken by this point given their ages," he shot a glance back at the others.

The others flinched and looked down.

"and is it really worth to beat someone up over, and one of your friends none the less? Really?" He questioned.

He waited until Willow sighed. Damn it he's right.

"No..." She sighed.

Mandarin then straightened up a bit.

"Then please don't resort to acts like this. It isn't funny or right, it only ends up with you looking like a massive hotheaded ruffian. I should know."

His tone was a big softer and Willow felt her heart twinge a bit in pain. She hated it when he's right.

Willow sighed.

"Alright, I'm sorry." She breathed.

"Don't tell me that, tell them." Mandarin motioned towards the others.

Willow nodded and looked over at everyone else.

"Guys I'm really sorry. Are...are we ok?" She asked.

Everyone nodded.

"Yeah, it's ok." Chiro said.

"We still love you." Amanda chirped.

Willow smiled a bit and sighed.

Mandarin blinked, waiting for the Hyperforce to say something else.

Sprx groaned.

"And we're sorry for spying on you on your dare. We will try not to do that anymore." He said.

Willow held up a finger.

"I'm holding you to it, otherwise I'm gonna get him to talk to you." She said, pointing at Mandarin.

Everyone snickered, Mandarin was just glad no one got seriously hurt.

"Alright! Let's move on to messy twister!" Sprx declared as everyone agreed.

Mandarin sighed as Willow got up.

"You need to stop being right all the time, it's annoying." She huffed, but smiled.

Mandarin raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you think they made me leader in the first place?"

"Why do you think they kicked you out?"

"Shut up."

Willow giggled and walked off. Antauri floated next to him.

"I will say Mandarin, that was awfully ma-"

Mandarin turned to him.

"Don't think any of you are in the wrong either. You need to stop ignoring her behavior and call her out on it. Or else she'll never learn." Mandarin said.

Antauri leaned back a bit before nodding.

"True, we will try that...do you wish to stay? You don't have to participate you can just watch." He suggested.

Mandarin was about to object when he felt someone tugging at his hand. He looked down to see Otto giving him the puppy dog eyes. Mandarin sighed again before picking him up.

"Oh fine I guess it wouldn't hurt." He said as Otto nuzzled his face.

"I win again!" Otto cheered as Mandarin laughed.

They then all turned when they heard Arwen entering the room, a large pizza box in hand. She stared at the others and huffed.

"Don't tell me you just ended the game already! After all the trouble I went through!" Arwen snapped, clearly tired.

Everyone, minus Mandarin, snickered.

* * *

After many games, everyone was asleep in the pillow fort. Mandarin couldn't sleep because the baby kept him up. His leg cramps were really beginning to annoy him, that and Lazuli only decides to get really active at night. Fun for Mandarin.

"Why must this keep happening?!" He thought as he turned the heating pad on and placed it on his abdomen.

He sat up against the wall as Otto curled up next to his leg. He stroked Otto's head, feeling intense affection. Mandarin looked around the room, watching everyone sleep with the ones they love. It was a rather solemn moment, and he sort of enjoyed it. He looked down at Otto again, who was fast asleep. Everyone really had to get used to the idea of them being together, but Mandarin expected nothing less. He kept stroking his head, trying his hardest not to wake him up. Mandarin almost thought he woke him up as Otto moved, but he only rested his head against Mandarin's side. He sighed and pulled him in a bit closer. That was close.

Mandarin looked over at Willow, who was spread out as Antauri rested next to her. They surprisingly didn't become a couple after that date, which confused Mandarin. Oh well, that might mean they would have to spend more time getting to know each other before they could get together, unlike him and Otto. Lazuli lightly kicked, causing Mandarin to rub his stomach gently.

"Sleep!" He whispered.

However she continued. Mandarin rested his head back and sighed, knowing he won't get much sleep tonight. However he didn't seem to mind, the silence of slumber and the cool air was rather peaceful to him.

Until Trent got up and decided to reenact one of his dreams, making it very hard for Mandarin not to burst out laughing.

* * *

Oh Trent how we love you. Anyway thanks for reading!


	24. Chapter 24

Hey! So my summer semester started and my classes are gonna be tough as hecky so don't be surprised if updates slow down a bit. Anyway please enjoy!

* * *

As the next few weeks came in, Brittany was becoming impatient. She was supposed to be here for a little while and then go to an audition that was in two weeks. She didn't have much time left and she really wanted to talk to Willow about her origins. But Arwen was getting cold feet and this began to annoy her.

"You have to tell her." She huffed one day.

Arwen sighed and set her brush down.

"I know, believe me I know. I just...I just am not ready to crash the world she knew." She sighed.

Brittany pointed outside, where the robot stood.

"I can get Mandarin to tell her, if you want." She said.

Arwen shook her head and stood up.

"No no that's fine. I'm sorry, I know how badly this audition means to you." She said.

Brittany stepped back as she stood up.

"So when are we gonna tell her then?" She asked, crossing her arms.

Arwen thought on it.

"Perhaps tomorrow? That's my off day and I'll feel less tired then." She said.

Brittany paused but sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Ok fine, I guess we could go with that. You owe me though." She huffed.

Arwen laughed before grabbing her bag, ready for work.

"See you." She said as the two left the house.

Brittany sighed as they parted ways, she may be a sueronian but she is the master of procrastination. Having nothing else to do, she decided to go over to the robot to hang around for a bit. She was surprised to see the place nearly empty, maybe they've gone out for a while?

She looked around for a bit until she went up to the command center and was greeted by loud voices.

"Mandarin! Go out with mee!" Otto cheered, holding onto him.

Mandarin tried to edge away so he could have some room, but Otto clung to him.

"Otto hold on a minute! I already said yes!" Mandarin laughed.

"Then where do ya wanna go?!" Otto said in the same cheering tone.

"I don't know yet, let me think!" Mandarin said as Otto clung to him.

Brittany blinked at the two before her eyes fell on Antauri, who was looking at the long range scanner.

She walked over to him and looked up at the screen.

"So what are you up to?" She asked.

Antauri looked at her before looking back at the screen.

"I was searching for signs of Sage or Mandarin 2...but so far nothing." He sighed, sounding slightly defeated.

Brittany smiled a bit and looked at the screen.

"Don't worry, we'll find them. Hopefully before anymore mess happens." She said.

Antauri nodded as Otto pounced onto Mandarin's chest and began nuzzling him.

"I hope so..."

Brittany looked around.

"Where is Willow and the others? It's almost noon."

"Willow wasn't feeling good so she's laying down for a bit. Everyone else is kinda doing their own thing." Otto chirped before going back to nuzzling and giving Mandarin's face kisses.

She wasn't? She was feeling just fine yesterday. Brittany looked down the tube.

"You don't think it's anything involving Diamanda do you? I mean she hasn't been active in weeks." She said.

Everyone paused and Mandarin placed a finger under his chin. Ever since Diamanda was told of her origins she has been pretty quiet. Is she finally used to the idea of her being a sueronian or was she still so confused? What would this result in?

"Should we...do something?" Otto asked.

Antauri thought on it.

"We should check on her, just in case." He said.

"That does sound like a good idea." Brittany murmured.

Otto hopped down and started to make his way towards the tubes.

"Then let's go! Before anything happens!" He chirped and Antauri and Brittany began to follow him when they looked back at Mandarin.

"Mandarin? Are you coming?" Antauri asked.

Mandarin paused, really not wanting to explain his new situation.

"Give me a few minutes." He said before attempting to heave himself up.

Otto tilted his head.

"You need help?" He asked.

Mandarin shook his head before fully getting up.

"This child has the worst timing for doubling in weight." He huffed as he went to the larger transport tube.

Brittany giggled, feeling kinda sorry for him. Mandarin rubbed his aching back as everyone else went down.

* * *

Antauri entered the room first and saw Willow curled up in bed, messing with her phone. She was clearly sweating and she looked much paler than usual.

"Willow? Are you feeling alright?" He asked.

Willow looked up and she struggled to sit up.

"No, I feel terrible. I don't know how it happened, I mean I'm not running a fever or anything. I don't think a illness is going around either." She said, putting a hand to her forehead before Antauri gave her a washcloth.

She dabbed her face with it and sighed.

"So what do you think it is?" Otto asked, hopping onto the bed.

Willow looked at Mandarin and Brittany before looking down and touching her chest.

"I think it's Diamanda again...but she's not trying to take over my body or anything." She said, feeling that Diamanda was in emotional turmoil.

Antauri scooted over to her.

"Then what is it?"

Willow sighed and held her necklace close to her.

"That's what I'd like to know, I can sometimes feel what she's feeling. Right now I sense a lot of confusion and...relief." She said before looking at Antauri straight in the eye, causing the silver monkey to feel very flustered.

"What did you say to her to give me back control? When you tried to reach me?" She asked, sounding serious.

Antauri's throat felt dry, not really wanting to confess what he's been feeling the past few months.

"Erm well I said you can fight her, that you have the strength and determination to do so." He said.

Willow smiled, feeling intense affection.

"Thank you Antauri. That really means alot to me." She said.

Antauri's face turned a bright blue and he cleared his throat.

"No problem. Now would you be able to walk?" He asked.

Willow sighed.

"I'd be a bit weak but I think I can manage. Now what else happened? I didn't want to ask because I know something happened that made Mandarin..." She bit her lip and Mandarin flinched.

Antauri was about to answer when a cell phone started raining. Brittany held up a hand and took out her phone.

She's stepped out and answered it, and before anyone else can say anything the ex mean girl exclaimed, "What?! What do you mean you're postponing the auditions?!"

Everyone turned to her as she was clearly both mad and happy.

"A few months?! But I've been practicing so hard for this! Practice a bit more? Ugh okay maybe I can do that but the others were waiting for this! I understand, thank you." She said before hanging up.

She stepped back in and sighed.

"I'm sorry, had a call." She huffed.

Mandarin tilted his head.

"What was that?" He asked.

Brittany looked towards the others before sighing.

"It's for an audition I've planned to go to in two weeks- or now in four months." She said, crossing her arms.

Willow raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"An audition? For what?" She asked, placing her arms on her knees and her hands under her chin.

Everyone waited intently for the answer.

Brittany nervously looked around knowing that if she answers this, Willow's origins might be touched upon. She had to try and not mention that, but it will be hard as Willow was clearly smart.

"Erm it's for a pop band called, 'Starlights'." She admitted.

Willow's eyes widened, recognizing the title.

"The Sueronian pop band?! But I thought they disbanded years ago!" She exclaimed as the others turned to her.

"You know what a Sueronian is?!" Otto exclaimed, causing Mandarin to clear his throat.

Otto blinked nervously.

"I mean...what's a Sueronian?" He asked as Mandarin sighed.

Willow placed a hand on her chin.

"Well from what I've heard they're like seemingly perfect aliens that seem perfect and super powerful when really they just use these gems to fulfill some sort of storyline they make up and are super attractive. They kinda sound annoying." She snickered, causing Brittany to get slightly peeved.

"She doesn't know any better, don't get angry." Brittany thought to herself.

Willow shrugged.

"But I don't know much about them otherwise, I only heard about them in high school when hunters came to our school." She said and bit her lip.

"Whom I really hate to be honest, I mean yeah they sound annoying, but they don't deserve to get hunted." She muttered and a flicker of hope shone in Brittany.

Willow then whipped her head up, realizing something.

"Wait! Brittany does that mean that...that you are..."

* * *

"You're a Sueronian?!" Trent and Amanda 'shockingly' exclaim.

Brittany slightly nodded, hoping that everyone will keep up the act that they just found out about this.

"Y-yes but only half Sueronian." She said as everyone gathered around.

Amanda leaned in.

"So if you're a Sueronian does that mean you got a secret dark side in your backstory?" She asked

Brittany paused but shook her head.

"Nope I don't think I have one." She said.

"What about animal sidekicks? I heard some Sueronians have some!" Trent said.

Brittany placed a hand on her chin.

"Well I do have a...was it a cat or a bunny...was it both?" She questioned herself, barely remembering the storyline she had.

Gibson leaned forward a bit.

"What side of Sueronian culture were you on? The world dominating side or the peaceful kind?" He asked.

"Peaceful. That I can promise you, cutie." Brittany cooed before winking.

Gibson blushed and looked away.

"Brittany stop." Willow sighed.

Brittany laughed.

"I'm sorry but as a relationship Sue I must flirt. It's like breathing." She shrugged.

Otto blinked.

"Relationship Sue?" He asked.

Brittany sat back.

"There are many types of Sueronians out there. There's what we call a 'goth sue', a 'bitch sue', a 'relationship sue', and even a 'God sue' when really they're not." Brittany explained before shrugging.

Nova titled her head.

"Then what type are you?" She asked.

"Oh I'm a combination of type sues I inherited from my mom and her family. I'm a 'angel sue', 'princess sue', 'relationship sue', and 'better than you sue' mix." She explained.

Willow snickered.

"Better than you sue? That sure does fit you to a T." She said.

Brittany narrowed her eyes.

"Hush."

Mandarin sighed a bit in relief. Finally some answers on Sueronians, it took them long enough. Now the question of when they should tell Willow about her bloodline should come into play soon.

Willow then leaned foreword.

"So why didn't you mention this? I mean if you technically had powers all this time you could have just told us." She said.

Brittany placed a hand to her choker and bit her lip.

"Well like you said, there were hunters. They began hunting them for when some Sueronians started conquering planets and my mom and other peaceful Sueronians thought they were safe. However...the hunters got more corrupted and just started hunting them for 'wrecking reality'." She said.

Amanda blinked.

"So you thought we'd snitch on you?" She guessed and Brittany nodded, hiding the other reason why she couldn't tell them.

Willow frowned.

"Okay we wouldn't do that! Yes you were a big bitch but we wouldn't sell you out to hunters. In fact we-!"

"My friends would have found out too! Overtime some of them began to believe the lies the hunters told them. That we're all conquers, wanting to bone everyone in sight, and..." Brittany exclaimed before her voice drifted off.

Willow then felt guilty.

"I'm sorry I didn't know..."

Brittany sighed.

"No it's fine, it's all in the past now anyway." She sighed before Trent scooted over.

"Now about the Starlights, are they really coming back?" He asked.

Brittany nodded, smiling.

"With new members though, the older members have already retired." She said sadly.

Chiro stood up.

"Wait now what is this Starlights?" He asked.

Trent turned around and grinned.

"Only one of my favorite bands ever! They were a group of Sueronian singers that were so over the top with their characters and backstory and their covers of Terran songs, especially the popular AKB songs, were so good! I had to get two jobs in order to buy as many CDs as I can!" Trent fanboyed.

Brittany snickered at his enthusiasm as Willow went over to calm him down. It was true, outside of Terra many of their music groups became very popular, especially AKB48. So cover bands would definitely use those songs to show to other parts of space.

Sprx snickered.

"Sounds like they were a huge thing back then." He snickered.

Trent nodded but frowned.

"They disbanded around the time I was born...something about wanting to leave normal lives or something. I mean I understand why but it'd still be cool to go to one of their concerts." He sighed.

Brittany nodded, it would have been. Then an idea came to her!

"Wait! Online they have a footage of their first concert on Natulis! We can watch a bit of it since there wasn't a lot of footage at first." She said.

Trent whipped himself around, eyes sparkling.

"They performed on Natulis?!" Amanda asked.

"A few times actually." Brittany chirped before pausing and turning to Gibson.

"Wait! Is there some way of the concert being as if we were actually there?" She asked.

Gibson flinched but nodded.

"Sure we can try that." He said before Trent darted over to him and grabbed both of his hands.

"Please! Please I want to see them live so bad!" He begged.

Chiro laughed and pulled him up.

"Don't worry, Gibson and Otto can make that happen." He said as Otto nodded.

Willow has never seen Trent so excited before, it was actually kinda infectious. She looked up at Mandarin.

"That ok with you? I mean I don't know how pregnant people do in concerts so..."

Mandarin sighed.

"I think I'll be fine as long as the volume is lowered. I mean from what I heard the music is gonna sound so upbeat and full of teeny bopper nonsense, I'll only be annoyed." He said.

Willow nodded before looking back at everyone else, who seemed pretty excited to watch a concert. However she began to feel that Brittany knows more than she was speaking about. She decided to leave it, for now.

* * *

Oh Willow, if only you knew. Anyway thanks for reading!


	25. Chapter 25

So here's another chapter with songs! Again I'll link the songs that appear. I will drag all of you down to Akb hell with me.

"I've Been Waiting to meet you" and "Stand Up Girls" Belong to AKB48

* * *

Gibson and Otto were working on the control panel in the training room. The others arrived with Trent and Brittany excitedly talking about the group.

"Rosella was the best! I mean her backstory was so nonsensical and great and she is just so unrealistically perfect!" Trent said.

Brittany snickered.

"Thanks, I'll tell her that." She muttered.

Trent blinked.

"What?"

Brittany blinked before her cheeks turned a bright pink.

"Uh nothing! Nothing at all!" She squeaked.

Trent frowned but didn't press on.

Gibson stopped messing with the control panel and went over to the others.

"Alright we're ready. We had to do a bit of searching for the right one but we found it." He said as Brittany smiled.

Finally she was going to see a live concert, just to get some references.

Otto pushed a few buttons and rushed over to the others as the room changed to a slight landscape with some large pits. It was evening and they were in one of the said pits but much higher up than below, and there was a bunch of people in the bottom of the pit.

"Whoaaah, this is Natulis?" Otto asked.

Brittany nodded as Willow frowned.

"You know I thought I'd be happy to see this place again but...nah." She said shaking her head.

Amanda nodded, understanding.

Otto noticed other people near them and ran towards them.

"Otto! They're not real!" Gibson reminded him before chasing after him.

Mandarin snickered and sat down.  
Chiro looked at him.

"You ok?" He asked.

Mandarin nodded.

"I'm fine, just tired from this." He said, rubbing his abdomen.

Chiro nodded as loud music started. Everyone turned to see a largely lit craft coming down to the pit. Brittany and Trent rush over to a few large rocks in front of them and intently watched.

The crowd cheered loudly as the song began to play.

 _"I've been waiting,  
I've been waiting,  
I've been waiting, yes!" _

They could see the various female singers, each of them looked vastly different from each other. Including a girl with hair colors that reflected a sunset and pink eyes.  
 _  
"I've been waiting,  
I've been waiting,  
I've been waiting," _

"Yes!" Brittany cheered.

 _"To meet you!"_ Each of the girls pointed to their audience with love and cheer in their voices.

Trent nearly squealed as he saw the sunset haired girl, Rosella, front and center of the entire group.

 _"I pedal my bike with all my might,  
as I make my way up this long hard hill." _

Trent and Brittany watched in joy as the others were very awed.

"So these are Sueronians.." Mandarin muttered as Otto went up next to Brittany and Trent.

 _"Even with my shirt against the wind,"_

"They're gorgeous..." Jinmay muttered.

"Well that's Sueronians for you, they're always gorgeous." Amanda said, rolling her eyes.

 _"It's the only thing in my way."_ The singers sang as they rushed towards one side of the stage.

 _"I have finally realized,"_ two of the many singers waved.

One was in gothic clothing with long dark black hair, while the other was wearing a school uniform and had two pink pigtails.

The group then rushed to the other side of the stage and waved to their fans.

 _"On how I feel about you!"_

Mandarin blinked, it was very poppy and girly but it wasn't so bad.

"They're actually good." Willow breathed.

Brittany and Trent were silent before the two started singing along with the next line.

 _"From this moment I'll be honest,  
And with this path that I've put myself on, I'll run towards it!"  
_  
The girls all continued to dance and sing along with the song, Trent hyped up as hell.

"They're even amazing in person!" He sighed as Brittany nodded.

Willow then noticed one of the girls who had blue hair with red streaks in it, alternative clothes like her, and a curved cat like mouth. She looked...awfully familiar.

 _"If you are in love,"_ her voice was mixed with the others, but Willow felt she had a certain power to it.

"Then why don't you just say so? Let's not hide it, let's be true to ourselves." Brittany sang, copying the hand movements they were making as the others continued to watch and enjoy the concert.

 _"If you are in love, then why don't you just say so?"_ One of the other girls, who had dark green hair and elfish characteristics sang with the others before looking at Rosella.

"Aunt Emmy…" Trent muttered.

"Aunt Emmy?" Chiro asked.

"Trent's adopted aunt, her grandparents adopted her when she lost her parents." Willow explained.

"Man no wonder you're into this group so much." Sprx said.

 _"Then just be earnest and let it show!"_

Then the stage spliced as different members were placed on different sides of the pit. Some rose up , some went down, and some went to different sides.

 _"I've been waiting,  
I've been waiting,  
I've been waiting, yes!" _

One of the girls, who had bright red hair, dark skin, and was very pretty, blew a few kisses to the audience. It caused a few male audience members to swoon.

 _"I've been waiting,  
I've been waiting," _

"I've been waiting!" Trent breathed.

"Yes!" Brittany cheered.

"To meet you!" The blue haired girl sang along with the others and Willow still couldn't stop watching her.

Why was she so familiar?  
 _  
"I've been waiting!"_

Loud cheers were heard as small ships started flying menacingly towards the concert. Willow saw this and stood on the rock.

"Those ships...they're Sueronian hunter ships!" She exclaimed, noticing an insignia of a heart with angel wings with a slash through it.

Everyone gathered to watch.

"But...this was their first concert here! Why are they here?" Willow asked.

Brittany rubbed her arms.

"Probably because they didn't want them to spread throughout the galaxy and 'screw things up'." She explained.

Nova looked at her.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I'm guessing what she means is destroying the status quo is against reality...or something." Brittany said, trying to remember what else was there.

Otto looked around.

"We gotta do something! They're gonna-!"

"It's fine, the last I heard they escaped from the hunters before anything got too serious. Watch." Trent said, pointing at the ship as the next song plays.

Small fighter ships then started to leave the much larger ship and one of the members, the elfish girl from before, noticed this.

"Arexes?" She questioned as her communicator went off.

"Emerald, the sueronian hunters are also on foot, we're sending out the Gary Stu ships after the ones in the air. Can you do one more song?" A sultry male voice asked.

Emerald smiled and nodded.

"Can do!" She chirped.

The Gary Stu ships and the sueronian hunter ships started fighting each other as the group did their last song.

 _"I wonder which one of the stars in the sky, would glow the brightest of all."_

The fighter ships blasted at each other, however several Gary Stu ships would defeat the hunters.

 _"You can just ask anyone,"_

"And they still won't know." Rosella and the girl with the blue and red streaked hair lead the group as some of the girls on the ship's main stage had to fight hand to hand with a group of hunters.

 _"But beyond the darkness, a new light awaits us."_

Rosella and the other girl turned as the ground troops started to make their way in and capture some of the fans.

"Are you shitting me?!" The blue haired girl asked as she darted towards the other side.

"Arey wait a second!" Rosella huffed before Arey froze the ground troops.

She turned to Rosella and shrugged.

"What?"

Meanwhile the goth girl from before kicked down a hunter and saw the sailor uniform girl getting knocked to the ground. She growled and rushed over to her, knocking the hunter out with a black ball of energy.

The uniformed girl looked up.

"Marie!"

"Get up Ami,we got some ass to kick!" She said pulling her up.

Ami huffed.

"All I wanted to do was to sing some kawaii j-pop. Not get my sailor outfit dirty!" She huffed.

"Only you would know what that means Ami." Marie sighed as they went back to back on the hunters.  
 _  
"Stand up girls! The dawn is nearly here.  
We've barely begun the road to our dreams."_

Trent placed a hand over his chest as Willow continued to watch.

 _"That blue haired girl..."_ She thought.

 _"Stand up girls!  
There's no reason to lose hope.  
Shake free from all your sadness." _

"I can't help but feel I know her from somewhere...somewhere really important." Willow thought as she stared at her.

Arey dodged a few of the lasers attacks and threw ice shards at them, still singing.

 _"Almost like...we've met before."_ She thought.

 _"With all our might, with all our might,"_

Mandarin noticed this too.

 _"She almost looks like..._ " The both of them thought as she glowed brilliantly and familiarly.

 _"We'll take off running!"_

She raised a hand in the air, singing with all her might.

Ami and Marie kept fighting off the hunters but then a blast of water nearly hit them.

"Aqua! Control your aim you'll get my makeup wet!" Marie yelled.

"This is too much!" Ami whined.

Then one of the Sueronian hunters ships began to land before the Gary Stu ships kept it away.

"Emerald! We have to retreat until this planet's protectors deals with them! The fans and your team members are in danger and the protector could take several hours!" A very handsome man with red hair said from inside.

Emerald nodded, really not wanting to do this but...for her fans.

"Everyone! Let's make this last verse count!" She declared before hitting a hunter with what seems to be a magic staff.

 _"Stand up girls, the dawn is nearly here!  
We've barely begun the road to our dreams." _

Each of the members went back to the ship as the stage began to come back together. Rosella turned to her audience and bowed.

The stage that was closest to the team began to go back, and Arey jumped onto it and said, "We'll be back soon! I promise!"

She waved as the stage connected with the ship as it began to take off.

The ship began to leave the pit as Trent and Brittany stood up.

"Rosella is the major reason I want to audition. To join Starlights!"

"I want to join them too.." Trent breathed.

Chiro walked up to them and smiled.

"I can see why." He said as the ship blasted off.

The room then went back to normal as Trent slumped his shoulders.

"It's over..." He sighed.

Jinmay laughed but walked over to him.

"That was actually really liberating." She said.

"Wait that was it?! Just two songs?!" Amanda huffed.

"The cameras got badly damaged after they left, so they couldn't film the rest." Brittany sighed.

"Well that sucks!" Chiro said.

Willow gripped her hands.

"Mandarin...did you see that girl too?" She asked.

Mandarin looked to her before realizing what she meant.

"The one with the blue hair? Yes, I saw her." He said.

Willow looked up at him, completely serious.

"Did she look just as familiar to you as she did to me?" She asked.

Mandarin placed a finger on his chin.

"A little bit, yes." He agreed.

Willow turned to him.

"After everyone leaves, let's go back and figure this out. I have a feeling it might be important." She said.

Mandarin thought about it before looking towards the others as they continued to talk about the concert and members. He then looked towards Willow. She was really set on this, he could tell. Her eyes were completely serious and her mouth was in a thin line. He then nodded.

"We'd have to be quick." He said and Willow nodded.

She was going to get answers, one way or another.

A few hours later, Willow and Mandarin entered the room as Willow went over to the control panel.

"Now that we got past the others, there is a way to fast forward through it. All you have to do is-"

But the room went back to the pit and the concert was quickly going by.

Mandarin turned to Willow, who was working on the control panel, tapping a button.

Mandarin frowned.

"How are you doing that?" He asked.

Willow looked up at him and shrugged. Mandarin sighed, dusting that off from her sueronian traits.

They soon stopped near the end, when Arey was near the area they were before. Willow paused the feed and went over to her. She walked right in front of her and stared. Mandarin followed suit as Willow kept staring.

Her eyes, her curved mouth, even her singing voice was familiar. Willow's mind went back to the song she sang before, and tried to remember. Her voice was strong but beautiful, hard yet kind. After a second look, Willow finally started to put the pieces together.

"Mom...it's mom!" She exclaimed, backing up.

Her breathing quickened as the truth soon settled in. Mandarin looked at her before looking at Arey.

"How do you know?" He asked.

Willow blinked and motioned towards her.

"How do I know?! How do I know?! Her face is just like mom's and her singing voice is just like hers!" She exclaimed, her voice echoing from all sides of the pit.

Mandarin looked harder before it hit him too. Have her hair longer and blond, add some age to her face and it is Arwen!

"Shrieking Shuggazoom it is her!" He breathed.

Willow stared at the younger version of her mother, flabbergasted at this revelation. Why didn't she say anything about this? Okay, she did say she used to sing but in a sueronian band?! Then it really clicked with her.

If her mom was a Sueronian then that makes her-!

She gasped and fell on her backside, hand over her mouth. Mandarin went over to her.

"Willow?"

Willow's face paled as she didn't respond.

"Oh...my god." She whispered.

Mandarin quickly went to the control panel, shut the concert off, and went back to her. He wanted to lean down to her level, but with his stomach size he really couldn't without help getting back up.

"Willow say something." He pleaded.

Willow was silent, still staring at the spot where Arwen was.

"I'm... I'm half Sueronian." She shuddered.

Mandarin flinched back but eased. She finally figured it out. Her lip trembled.

"I don't understand...the Dream givers...the bullies...my bloodline...was it all made up?!" Willow choked out, holding her head.

Mandarin looked around, praying for someone to come in.

"I-look it's not that bad! That was real to you and your family as much as all of this sueronian stuff was. You just have much more on doing whatever you want with that past than your real bloodlines. Now you can change whatever you want." He said, attempting to soothe the girl's distress.

"I don't want to change it! I never wanted it to change!" Willow exclaimed as she got up, tears stinging her eyes.

She felt a bit dizzy standing up so quickly, something internal was starting to go into a distraught and confused flurry.

"How would you freaking feel if suddenly everything you knew was a lie?! That all you knew before was completely fabricated!? That people would still hunt after you but in completely larger numbers!?" She demanded.

Mandarin glared.

"I just had that experience a few weeks ago. So I do get how you must be feeling, don't think I don't." He snapped and Willow's eyes softened.

"Y-you did?" She asked.

Mandarin nodded and crossed his arms.

"I really do not feel like talking about it right now because it's very long and this is more important." He said, making Willow smile a bit.

However, her smile dropped and she sighed.

"I just...I just don't know how to take lol of this in..." She sighed as the two heard someone come down from the transportation tubes.

Willow turned to see most of the others, including Brittany and Arwen, enter the room. Willow's skin went cold as she saw her mother.

"Willow we heard yelling is everything ok?" Antauri asked.

Their answer was given as Willow looked down, biting her lip. Mandarin tried to explain, but the words couldn't come out.

"Oh...she figured it out hasn't she?" Brittany whispered and immediately regretted whispering.

Willow whipped her head up.

"You knew?!"

Brittany stepped back but stood her ground.

"Yes, now listen I came to this planet to talk to you about it." She said, stepping forward.

Willow looked between her mom and Brittany.

"When were you going to tell me this?" She asked.

Brittany and Arwen looked at each other.

"We were going to tell you on the day Trent was kidnapped but...clearly things did not go as planned. We told you while Diamanda took over you, but you couldn't remember anything afterwards." Arwen explained.

Willow's eyes widened.

"So that's why Diamanda felt weird..." She breathed and began to back up.

She began to feel all sorts of emotions, but betrayal was what she felt the most.

"Willow when I bullied you, that wasn't me. You secreted an aura that made everyone on Natulis think differently of you. They didn't mean to hate you, your aura just screwed them up." Brittany explained, walking towards her.

Willow continued to back up, now starting to feel very strange.

"Believe it or not, when I found out that you were half sueronian I was so happy. I finally had someone who was like me. But when I tried to talk to you, I felt different and started saying all this terrible stuff. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?" She asked.

Willow didn't react, instead she looked at her mom.

"Why...why didn't you tell me? Why did you lie to me about-?" Then she paused.

"Oh what am I talking about?! I know! I know why you didn't tell me anything! It was because of those damn hunters were they?!" Willow asked.

Arwen flinched before looking down.

"They were starting to disappear for a while...then around the time you were four they started to come back and really began hunting full swing. I would have told you in secret but I was too afraid that we would have been found out." Arwen said, remembering the day where Emerald pointed out the huge amount of Sueronian hunter ships in one of the smaller pits.

She remembered the amount of fear she had, not only for her and her friends, but for her daughter's as well.  
She remembered her and her friends demanding the hunters to leave, in fear they would be hunted. She remembered them getting denied again and again. She remembered the fearful times of nearly getting caught with her own sueronian powers.  
She remembered creating the Dream givers story just to cover their asses.

Arwen then looked at Willow, trying to look serious.

"I didn't tell you to protect you, when you would have decided to leave Natulis when you graduated that was when I was going to tell you. However you and your friends were already going off and having your own adventures. After a few years it got really hard to tell you..." Arwen explained.

Willow shook as she explained this. She then looked towards the Hyperforce.

"I...guys I had no idea I...that I..." She shook.

Antauri stepped forward, a smile on his face.

"Willow it is fine, we still-"

Suddenly Willow lurched forword and she fell to her knees. Mandarin quickly backed up, sensing a lot of dark energy coming from her.

"What's going on?!" Otto asked, backing up.

Gibson looked at his scanner.

"Team something's-!"

Before anyone could react, a dark mass erupted from Willow's back, causing her to scream in agony. She fell to the floor as the dark figure changed into someone familiar.  
The figure turned to the group and everyone realized it was Diamanda. She looked nearly the same as before, but her facial features were sharper and different from Willow's.

"Dia-Diamanda!" Arwen exclaimed.

Diamanda backed up in fear and ran off, phasing through the wall.

Arwen turned to Amanda and Trent.

"You two, you go with Jinmay and Sprx to get her back! We need to talk to her!" Arwen said.

The four nodded as they ran off, while Chiro held up the unconscious Willow.

"She seriously needs to stop doing this!" Mandarin huffed as Chiro shot him a glare.

* * *

It's about dang time Willow. Anyway thanks for reading!

watch?v=AA1VAl37-6c I've been waiting

video/x20fgo7_en07-shoujotachi-yo_music Stand Up Girls


	26. Chapter 26

Hey! Another day another chapter, this time Willow comes to grips with her heritage...and maybe a few other things. Please enjoy!

* * *

Diamanda kept running, she had to find Sueronia. She had to go to it! She couldn't stay on Shuggazoom like her vessel decided to. She just had to find out who she really is.

She darted to the bridge, knowing the Hyperforce would be right behind her. She did not care, she had to leave. She entered the Zone of Wasted Years and was about to fly into the sky when she felt someone behind her. Diamanda looked to see Sage. She jumped and backed up.

"What do you want?" She asked.

Sage shrugged.

"To help you, what else?"

Diamanda frowned.

"Yeah sure. Now leave me be, I got a home to go to." She said and began to blast off when a hand grabbed her and threw her back down.

She coughed and got up, about to blast Sage into next week.

"Come on! Do you really think you should go back to that planet?! You still have all this power, all this evil, are you just going to squander it just because you wanna find your home planet and be with your kind?" Sage asked in a fake whiny voice.

Diamanda growled.

"I know what you're trying to do pal, and it ain't working for me! I need to know what the hell I am before I go back to evil!" She barked.

Sage looked around.

"I didn't take the time to figure out myself because I knew I had plans to carry out! You could rule galaxies with your power Diamanda!" Sage urged.

Diamanda growled and threw several white fireballs at him.

"You don't control me! No one does! I do whatever I please! The only reason I brought you out of Trent's body was so that I could use you, not the other way around!" She yelled as Sage kept dodging.

Sage's mouth gaped open in shock and amusement before quickly dodging the next fire ball.

"Oh Dia! I had no idea I was just a pawn!" He said, clearly not caring.

Diamanda growled as she fired at him again as Sage shot electrical shocks at her. She flinched before fully blasting Sage away. He quickly got up and sent blasts of dark energy at her before she dodged them and turned her fingers into dragon claws. Sage morphed his hands into knives as the two attempted to slash at each other. Diamanda was scratched in the face before she kicked Sage.  
The two fought for a good several minutes before Sage even got another hit in. Diamanda breathed fire as Sage shielded himself. He noticed something behind her and dodged. Before Diamanda could react, Skelemandarin used his blaster on her. Diamanda was blasted into a rock and fell. She struggled to get up as Sage stood over her, Skelemandarin following right behind him.

"You know, in stories like these the kidnapped person would barely put up a fight. Yet you still fought as much as you did, I am impressed!" He said before staring at her choker.

He placed a foot on her stomach and held her up by her hair.

"Then again...I wonder if you'll put up much of a fight after this." He said before removing it.

He dropped Diamanda to the ground as she weakly got up. She tried to create a fire ball and throw it at him, but nothing happened. She looked at her hand, as if she couldn't recognize it. Diamanda looked up at Sage.

"What did you do?" She growled.

"Just testing." He said in a sing song voice.

Diamanda's eyes narrowed before she realized.

"Wait! You're not a-!"

Sage then placed the choker around his neck and felt his own power diminishing and new ones replacing it. He inhaled sharply in pleasure before sighing. That felt good.

Sage looked down at Diamanda, who couldn't comprehend what just happened.

"Not a what? Half Sueronian? Because I think that just answered your question." He said before grinning.

* * *

Amanda kept looking around for Diamanda, but nothing. She groaned and was about to go into the Zone of Wasted Years, but Jinmay placed a hand in her shoulder.

"Antauri is telling us to come back, don't worry we'll find her." She said.

Amanda looked towards the bridge, something felt wrong but...

She huffed but nodded. They'll have to find her later.

When they came back, Willow was just starting to wake up. She groaned and placed a hand on her head. The only person in the med bay was Mandarin.

"What...happened?" She muttered.

Mandarin handed her a wet cloth to dab her forehead with.

"Diamanda split from you." He simply said.

Willow's eyes widened.

"She did?! Why?!" She asked, shocked.

"I'm guessing because since she's a sueronian, she wants to find Sueronia and know about her origins." He suggested.

Willow let the suggestion sink in before nodding a bit. That does sound like something someone would do in a situation like this.

"Are the others trying to find her?" She asked, trying to ignore the elephant in the room.

Mandarin sighed.

"Trying being the key word here." He said.

Willow nodded, she was super fast. She then frowned a bit.

"Wait,if the others are out there...why are you here?" She asked.

Mandarin blinked before looking off to the side.

"Well someone had to wait until you woke up...that and..."

He raised one hand.

"Hi Willow." Tilamats voice chirped and Willow dipped her head in embarrassment.

"Oh my god I'm sorry!" She snickered.

"No problem, I seem to make appointments when drama happens." Tilamat said and Mandarin frowned.

"Hey! This isn't just some stupid daytime drama crap!" He snapped.

Tilamat let out a loud whoop.

"And Mandarin's mood swings are finally coming out to play!" He exclaimed.

"Silence they've been here for a while!" Mandarin snapped.

Willow blinked as the two went back and forth. Should a obstetrician and a patient really act like this towards each other? Or were they really that close? She had no clue but Tilamat sighed.

"Things seem to be going ok, I suggest eating a bit more sweets since I can tell someone hasn't been eating enough of them." Tilamat advised.

Mandarin raised an eyebrow.

"What? Should I eat a candy store or something?" He asked.

"Hmm now that would be a sight." Tilamat muttered.

Mandarin rolled his eyes.

"How you are a professional I will never know." He sighed.

"Only since you let me act unprofessional around you, you're more fun." Tilamat chirped before tapping a few more keys.

Mandarin sighed but smiled.

"Other than that, she's doing pretty good." Tilamat said.

Willow smiled a bit, glad that Lazuli was doing okay and to be focusing on something else.

"That's good, now that Willow is awake I'll have more stuff to deal with." Mandarin said.

"Oh have fun, no offense Willow." Tilamat said as Willow shrugged.

Soon Mandarin shut off his communicator and Willow got up.

"Well! Now that that's out of the way-!"

"Are you going to talk to your mother?" Mandarin asked, slowly getting up.

Willow paused and looked down. Should she? Arwen did have a pretty good reason for hiding her origins, but knowing that all she knew beforehand still hurt.

"I...I will." She said and she felt Mandarin push her out.

"Not now!"

"Yes now!" Mandarin huffed as she was pushed outside, where the others were waiting.

Everyone turned to her and Arwen flinched. Willow fiddled with her hands, silent.

"Erm...so..."

Brittany walked over to her.

"How do you feel? Now that you're no longer Diamanda's vessel?" She asked.

Willow paused.

"Actually, pretty good." She said, smiling a bit.

"That's good, but what about the other things?" She asked.

Willow's smile dropped and her gaze from Brittany dropped. Antauri motioned the others, minus Trent, Amanda, Arwen, and Brittany to leave the room for a while.

They left through the large transportation tube, leaving the five alone.

"You think they'll be ok?" Otto asked, who was now on Mandarin's shoulder.

Antauri nodded.

"I think so." He said.

The others sat down as Willow gripped her knees.

"So...you never told me." She said.

Arwen clasped her hands together.

"I couldn't, and that was a mistake on my part. That way all of the things that happened would have been avoided or you would have known what to do." She sighed.

Willow nodded slightly.

"But your father gave you that necklace and Amanda that ring so you two could one day go out and save not only Natulis, but other planets." Arwen explained.

Amanda looked over at her before looking down at her ring.

"Willow, Amanda, please understand what I did was to keep you two safe. Yes if I told you, Willow would have learned to control her aura but the hunters were getting clever in finding out where a Sueronian is. I had to keep you two safe." Arwen said.

Amanda looked down while Willow lo look at her.

"Mom stop, you don't have to keep explaining this to us. I get it, so don't worry about it now." Amanda sighed.

Willow looked at Amanda and nodded.

"Yeah, besides it's good we know now."

Arwen nodded, smiling a bit.

Trent looked over, a confused expression on his face.

"Then...what about me? I mean I got powers and stuff but I don't know what that means." He said.

Arwen smiled a bit.

"You are an interesting case, Trent. You are half sueronian too, but you come from a long line of half sueronians." She said and Trent gasped.

"Sometimes your powers and aura would skip a generation or two, but clearly that didn't happen with you. You're also one of the weaker Sueronians that only have a few powers and no noticeable aura. " Brittany said.

Trent's mouth hung open before a small smile formed.

"So that's why I got all these cool powers." He said.

Arwen nodded as Trent looked at her.

"Okay, now that's really cool." He said.

Arwen laughed.

"Well I'm glad that made you happy." She said.

Willow smiled a bit too, happy knowing she wasn't alone in this.  
Brittany was about to say something but Willow put up a hand.

"Stop, you've already apologized enough and it's fine now." She said before smiling.

Brittany sighed in relief and a thought popped into Trent's mind.

"So wait...Arwen are you Arey by any chance?" He asked.

Arwen bit her lip, trying not to smile.

"Umm...yes. Ariella Luna Rosemary Ebony Aquamarine Clint." She said.

Trent was silent before yelling, "You mean I've already met one of the most famous members of Starlights but no one told me?!"

* * *

Antauri looked up at the ceiling, listening as the group talked. He smiled as the group laughed and Trent was trying to compose himself. At least that went well.

"Chiro why are you looking up caters?" Mandarin asked suspiciously.

Chiro froze before swiping away to another site.

"No reason, why?"

Mandarin huffed harshly.

"I already told you! I don't want a baby shower!" He said.

Nova nodded.

"Oh we heard don't worry, he might be looking up for a birthday party or something." She said, lying.

"Don't give me that I know your plans!"

"Mandarin trust us we're not throwing you a baby shower." Gibson said, holding back a smile.

"I mean it! Don't do it!"

Otto clung to him and kissed him.

"Don't worry, anywho movie night or park night?" Otto asked.

Mandarin groaned, knowing they were gonna plan it. He would have to think of something in order to stop it. He paused before answering.

"Park night, but only if there's no one else around." He huffed.

Otto grinned and smooched his cheek before nuzzling him.

"Sounds good to me."

Gibson watched the two before going back to finish the living room.

"All we need now is to just add the finishing touches and we're done with the living room." He announced.

"What else do we need to finish?" Sprx asked as he set down a chair in the kitchen, which just finished drying from wet paint.

"The guest rooms and the kitchen as far as I know." Antauri said.

Nova peeked into the nursery and all she saw was red walls with orange swirls and the cobra ornament hung over the nursery. She sighed, what the hell was Mandarin trying to accomplish in this room? Turn it into some Pharaoh's throne room and end up freaking his kid out? Although if Lazuli would be anything like Mandarin, she'd probably love it.

The team then saw the others come into the base.

"I'd just hope we'll find Diamanda soon, I still want to talk to her." Arwen said.

"Don't worry we will." Willow said before looking at the others.

Jinmay looked over at the five.

"So how'd it go?" She asked nervously.

Willow smiled.

"It went fine." She said before looking down a bit.

"Guys I'm sorry that my aura forced all of you to like me. I didn't know...and if I somehow turned it off I'm...I'm just scared that you'll all..." She said, finding it hard to speak.

Antauri shook his head and went to her.

"Willow don't worry about it. Aura or not we would still be your friends. All we've gone through these past few months, we won't throw them away because of something you couldn't control." He said as the others agreed.

Arwen smiled and motioned towards Mandarin.

"That's true, he's a prime example of what Antauri said." She said as everyone was confused.

Mandarin was taken back by what Arwen said, and she kept going.

"For many Sueronians, sometimes their aura to get others to instantly like them doesn't work on some people. It causes them to react to their behaviors in their own way." She explained as everyone looked at Mandarin.

Mandarin flinched and looked away.

"Despite all of the confusion and suspicion he had, Mandarin was still able to become your friend on his own."

Willow's mouth opened in shock before grinning playfully.

Mandarin kept looking away before noticing her walk up to him.

"You actually care about me don't you Mandy?" She asked, crossing her arms.

Mandarin's face flushed and he blinked rapidly, causing the others to snicker.

"Sh-shut up." He grumbled as everyone crowded him.

"Awww Mandarin! That's too sweet!" Jinmay chirped.

"Wow Mandarin actually has a heart!" Chiro said, faking shock.

"Yeah who would have thunk it?" Sprx snickered.

"It is good to show others you care for once Mandarin." Gibson said.

"Oh come on now, I said once that he had a good heart." Antauri said.

"I will obliterate all of you! Right here! Right now!" Mandarin barked, no doubt he was embarrassed.

Otto kissed his face as Willow giggled.

"It would kinda make sense you two being good friends, I mean you're both temperamental stubborn brutes." Sprx scoffed.

Everyone was silent as Sprx was confused.

"What? What'd I say?" He asked as Mandarin snickered.

"Your word choices are so moronic!" He snickered as Willow looked a bit pissed.

"Who's a brute now?" She asked as Sprx turned and quickly walked off.

"I said nothing!"

Arwen laughed as the others went back to socializing and working on the base, Otto and Mandarin soon leaving for the park.

They didn't know this either, but there was another who was unaffected by Willow's aura, and he was getting closer and closer with her.

"So Willow, since Sueronians have all this mystic stuff they make up what mystic stuff so you have?" Jinmay asked.

Willow blinked.

"Yeah what other stuff in your backstory do you have?" Chiro asked.

The others looked at her, interested. Willow twiddled her fingers.

"Well um...for one there's a lake here on Shuggazoom I rule over...and for the Dream Givers there are many people of royalty in them and I happen to be a princess...not that's real anymore." She said before sighing.

"Willow honey, your backstory is as real as you believe it to be." Arwen said, sitting next to her.

Willow was confused as Arwen stroked her hair.

"That's the fun part of being a Sueronian, you can do anything you want to your back story and it will be true. Your lake is still real, just as long as you believe in it." She said and Willow smiled a bit.

She really didn't want to change it, she loved and cared about all of the ideas and explanations of her past. It was precious to her...well except for one thing that did bother her.

"That's good...because to be honest the princess stuff didn't really sit well with me." Willow huffed and Amanda laughed.

"Then I'll take it! Please!" She begged.

Willow laughed and playfully punched her arm.

"Fine, just so you can get more girly."

Brittany twiddled her fingers.

"Can I see it sometime?"

Everyone looked at her.

"It just sounds so pretty." She said.

Willow nodded.

"Yeah, maybe sometime next week?" She asked as Brittany nodded.

Trent yawned as he stretched.

"This was one heck of a day, but I must sleep!"

"Trent it's only five thirty!"

"Sleep!" Trent chirped as he went up stairs.

Willow sighed but smiled. Today was a crazy day, but she felt that things were gonna get better now.  
At least she hoped.

* * *

Willow was walking to her room, planning to read her magic book for a while when Antauri caught up with her.

"Willow!"

She turned to him.

"Yes Antauri?"

Antauri looked around a bit.

"Would it be alright if you took me to that lake?" He asked.

Willow smiled and nodded.

"Sure, I don't mind having another-"

"Right now?"

Willow blinked and Antauri froze.

"Oh I apologize, it's just I haven't heard of this lake and I'm not sure where-"

Willow placed two fingers over Antauri's lips.

"I guess we can make a quick stop there, Brittany's probably gonna get a bit mad though."

"I'll talk to her." Antauri said, smiling.

"Then let's go in my father's ship real quick." She said and the two went off.

Brittany watched the two and blinked. Then smiled as she went to find Gibson.

"Those two." She sighed.

They flew into the Savage lands, which made Antauri a bit paranoid but Willow assured him that Sage or Skelemandarin won't be able to follow them.

The then landed near a cave opening, covered by long vines. Willow urged Antauri to follow and the two made their way into the cave. They walked a bit before they came across a huge lake with a gorgeous waterfall and vegetation.  
Antauri's eyes widened.

"You created this?" He asked.

Willow looked down at her necklace.

"I think the gem in my necklace did this...I don't know how but it did." She said, still surprised it was here.

Antauri walked onto the grass.

"It's still amazing that you can create something so beautiful." He said.

Willow smiled as she sat down near the edge of the lake.

Antauri looked at her, not noticing he began to stare at her beauty before clearing his throat.

"So does this lake have any magical properties?" He asked.

Willow thought about it.

"I don't know, I mean I think it did when I was little but now...I think I forgot about that." She said, touching the water.

Antauri sat next to her as a comfortable silence came over the two.

"It used to be able to heal, at least I think it did. It also had a crystal somewhere behind the waterfall...at least I think it's still there." Willow said, narrowing her eyes.

Antauri turned to her, paying attention.

"I don't remember what it did, but I remember if anyone took it bad things will happen." She continued.

Antauri nodded.

"It sounds really important."

Willow smiled.

"Yeah...there used to be a big tree here too that I would go to when I'm sad. Though, I think since I forgot about it..." She looked towards a large empty space near the lake.

Antauri noticed the sad look on her face and placed a hand on hers. Willow turned to him.

"If you believe in it, you can make a new one." He simply said.

Willow smiled and nodded. He was right.

They turned back to the lake, not noticing that a small tree was already starting to grow. One with light pink petals that symbolized the love between the two.

"So perhaps later when we go back we can work on practicing your powers a bit more." Antauri pointed out.

Willow nodded.

"That sounds good to me." She said.

The two continued to talk and enjoy themselves before they went home. The tree still continued to grow and at a much faster rate. There was something Willow could always go back to.

* * *

God damn it these two are too freaking cute. Anyway thanks for reading!


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Baby shower edition! To be honest, this was one of the most fun chapters I've ever written because well...you'll see.

* * *

As another week past, Mandarin was well into his seventh month and the sooner everyone tried not to touch his stomach the better. He lost count of how many people's hands he had to smack or push away, it was getting really annoying. It wasn't even the Hyperforce anymore! The citizens were getting in on this too as they became more comfortable around him finally. That and he tried to keep the whole baby shower nonsense from happening and for a while it seemed like he won.

Or so he thought. He one morning grumbled as he went to get something from the kitchen to eat before he heard some whispering. He ducked behind a room and listened.

"So you got everything ready for tomorrow night?" Chiro's voice asked.

"Yep! And I got the ice trays with the toy babies inside." Brittany chirped.

"I dunno guys, don't you think Mandarin's gonna get mad at us? He did keep saying he didn't want one." Otto asked

"Otto please. Once he sees it he's gonna love it! Besides even if he doesn't he'll get over it." Nova sighed.

Mandarin's eyes widened and he felt his stomach churn. Oh no, they were gonna throw him a baby shower. After all his efforts they're gonna do it anyway! Mandarin silently groaned as he dipped his head, the hell was he gonna do?! Tomorrow night he had to escape to somewhere for the time being, he just had to. There was no way he was going to subject to something so cheesy and stupid!  
He then edged away and went back to the kitchen, not wanting to get caught. At that same time, Amanda entered the hall and was gonna go to the kitchen as well.

Brittany turned to her and smiled.

"Oh! Amanda! Great timing, listen we're throwing the baby shower tomorrow night but there are a couple more errands we have to run before then." She whispered to her and Amanda's eyes widened.

"You mean you're actually throwing it?" She asked.

Chiro nodded.

"Yeah but it's gonna take us a few hours before we can actually throw it. So can you please distract Mandarin until we get back?" He asked.

Amanda paused before nodding.

"You are gonna stay right?" Nova asked.

Amanda hesitated before nodding again.

"S-sure." She said.

"Great! See you." Brittany said as everyone scattered.

Amanda kept the smile before dipping her head. She went into the kitchen and saw Mandarin slowly eat, looking defeated.

"Uh what's up with you?" She asked as she grabbed some cereal.

Mandarin looked at her.

"Huh? Oh nothing." He said.

Amanda blinked before realizing.

"Oh! I guess you overheard then didn't you?" She said.

Mandarin was silent before saying, "I keep telling them, I keep telling them I didn't want one. I just got another overhaul of gifts from the family."

Amanda nodded and sat down next to him. It really was kinda pointless if people kept sending him stuff. She paused.

"You wanna know something? I don't blame you." She said.

Mandarin turned to her, confused. Amanda sighed and set down her spoon.

"To be honest, I really hate baby showers too." She said and Mandarin's eyes widened.

She raised her hands.

"I know! It's shocking since I'm so super girly, but hey when you have to put up with screaming girls as they play the most stupidest games and open gifts that make them scream even more, I die a little inside." Amanda ranted, having a painful smile on her face.

Mandarin leaned down.

"Not to mention the unnecessary crying." He muttered.

Amanda leaned back, eyes wide.

"Oh my god! That is the moment when I really hated them! I went to one when I was around six and I got so scared by the crying and squealing that I had to be forced to go home. Then when I went to another one when I was twelve, people got mad at me for making snarky comments and refusing to play the games. All I wanted to do was eat and go home!" Amanda raved.

"What hellish baby showers did you go to?!"

Amanda leaned foreward.

"My moms co workers! They're so perky and stupid over stuff like this, it makes every moment with them painful. So really it is hell!" Amanda said.

Mandarin sighed and rubbed his temples.

"I've never been to one, but the ones I have heard and seen about just make me cringe so hard. Like who in the world thinks putting melted chocolate in a diaper counts as a fun game?!" He questioned.

"The games are the worst! The diaper game is terrible and disgusting!" Amanda said, recoiling in disgust.

She groaned as Mandarin placed his hands on his face and slowly slide them off.

"And now we're going to suffer through all of it." He lamented and Amanda raised her head.

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" She said and she turned to him, a smile flashing.

"Okay, the others are going to run some errands before the party starts. That means they'll be gone for who knows how long, so what we can do is go in and destroy the place." She said and Mandarins mouth hung open a bit before smiling.

"That is the best idea you ever had." He said, his whole world brightening up.

Amanda nodded.

"Of course! It's something I've always wanted to do as a kid! Now they'll get mad at me, but they can't get mad at you since you're the expecting mother." She said motioning towards Mandarin.

He agreed, it was almost too good not to pass up!

"Let's do it." He said, still smiling.

Amanda nodded before leaning in.

"Now we have to be secretive and stealthy as all get out, so tomorrow night we have to..."

* * *

"Now are you sure you got Mandarin out of the robot?" Willow asked.

"Yeah! We're going to dinner." Amanda's voice said over the phone.

"Amanda there's a dead rat." Mandarin's voice piped up.

Willow was confused as Amanda shushed him.

"But yeah I got this! Don't worry." Amanda said.

Willow smiled a bit.

"Okay good, we'll text you when we're on our way back. The party is in the base's living room." She said, whispering the last part.

"Okay! See you there." Amanda said and Willow hung up.

"Okay guys, the party is set! Let's move out!" Chiro said and the others quickly left the base and the robot.

The living room was decorated in total baby shower decor. Pacifiers, bottles, and diaper pins galore, along with a huge sign that read 'It's a girl, congratulations!'. All of it was colored in a light pink and various other pastel colors and had a table filled with food and a large cake. It truly was an expecting mother''s paradise.

A while later, Amanda and Mandarin entered the living room, holding bats and clubs as they held wicked grins before looking at each other.

"Let the baby shower commence." Amanda said, mischievously.

She rushed over to the table and raised a bat when Mandarin rushed over to her.

"Now wait! The Hyperforce went so far as to get a caterer for this event. We can't just let their hard work go to waste." Mandarin said longingly.

Amanda placed a hand on her chin.

"That is true, I mean look at that cake." She said as the two looked at the pink binkie shaped cake.

Mandarin nodded, it did look rather satisfying.

"Tilamat did say I need to eat more sugars."

The two could only finish half of it and were stumped over what to do with the rest of it.

"Hmm you sure you can't make room in your stomach?" Amanda asked.

"If I tried I'd throw up." Mandarin sighed.

"I thought that since you were pregnant you'd probably eat the whole thing." Amanda said.

"I thought so too but apparently my appetite doesn't want to cooperate with me today." Mandarin said in defeat.

Amanda thought on it.

"We can't let it go to waste." Mandarin pointed out.

Amanda snapped her fingers.

"There's a homeless guy on the street near us! I'd bet he'd love to have something to eat tonight." Amanda said smiling.

Mandarin smiled.

"That does sound generous." He said.

Amanda took the half eaten cake and began to walk off.

"It will make up for our future sins tonight!" She said, making Mandarin laugh a bit.

After a while, Amanda came back and Mandarin was taking down the streamers and thrusting them into various sides of the room.

"We must do something about that banner." Amanda said, pointing at the 'it's a girl' sign.

Mandarin turned to it and frowned. It does need something done to it. Amanda went up and took it down, beginning to tear the letters from each other.

"You got any tape?" She asked.

Mandarin looked around until he found a roll of tape and handed it to her.

Soon enough, the banner was placed back on the wall, reading only one word.

'Ass'.

"Very mature." Mandarin sighed.

Amanda smiled.

"Thank you, I try." She said.

Mandarin shook his head before he caught something in the corner of his eye. The recliner was decorated as if it were a mini throne, a throne covered in light pink fabric.

"Okay what is that?" Mandarin said, annoyed.

Amanda looked over at it.

"I guess it's for you." She said, looking up at him.

Mandarin shook his head quickly.

"Okay no, not happening." He huffed and Amanda went over to the recliner.

She laid her back on one arm of the chair and rested her feet in the other and posed.

"By order of the queen I demand you all to trash this girly cheesy baby shower!" Amanda declared, faking a fancy royal accent.

Mandarin snickered.

The destruction continued, with a few chairs now scattered across the room and streamers in disarray. Mandarin was placing the presents in the nursery, not wanting such innocent things to get in the crossfire.

"Wait! I got a great baby shower game idea!" Amanda said as Mandarin came back into the room.

Mandarin gave her a weird look.

Amanda pointed the balloons.

"Who can pop the most balloons in five minutes!" She cheered.

Mandarin paused but nodded. That does sound like a good baby shower game.

All of the balloons were then set in one part of the room, ready to be popped. Amanda set the timer on her phone.

"Okay and...go!"

Amanda turned her fingers into ice shards and began to pop each balloon. She felt her adrenaline kick in as she picked up speed. However the balloons were all then popped when an really small purple missile shot through them. Amanda's mouth opened and she glared at Mandarin, who blew away some smoke from his knuckles. He smiled smugly at her.

"That's cheating!" She accused, pointing at him.

"You didn't create any rules to this game. You said nothing about using missiles to pop them!" Mandarin said.

"I shouldn't have to say you can't do that because it's unfair!" Amanda argued.

Mandarin turned away and smiled.

"Oh well, I still won. The expecting mother always wins." He chirped, walking away.

"That's bullcrap!" Amanda yelled after him before shutting off her timer.

"What a jerk." She thought as she picked up the strings.

Amanda looked around, trying to find what else to mess up until she came across the kitchen. She opened the freezer lid and came to find ice cubes with tiny little plastic babies in them.

Mandarin entered the kitchen and peered into the freezer.

"Why are there plastic babies in the ice cubes? Are they for decoration?" He asked, hoping that it was true.

Amanda sighed and dipped her head.

"No...there's this game called, 'My water broke'. Basically what you do is that you have to suck on the ice cubes and the first one that melts has to say the title of the game." Amanda explained.

Mandarin looked at her, horrified.

"These games are unbelievably strange!" Mandarin exclaimed.

Amanda let out a dry laugh, that wasn't even half the weird games she witnessed. She then grabbed the trays and rushed them to a lamp.

"Here! So everyone can win!" She huffed, letting them melt.

Mandarin nodded, good strategy. Another thought came to mind.

"Pray tell...what other games do you think they set up?" He asked.

The two were silent before they quickly searched the base. No games must survive this destruction. None!  
Mandarin picked up a bag of clothes pins.

"I have found the clothes pin game!" He announced.

Amanda rushed over to him, trying to think of what to do with it.

"Umm...uh...oh! Let's place them all over the place but let's make it so that they hide in very secret places. Just to surprise people!"

Mandarin nodded and went off to put the clothespins in strange places. It was trite but hey it was better than what the game's real intention was.

Amanda looked around a bit more and found some baby food and a few blindfolds. The baby food guessing game! There was no way all of this baby food was going to waste! It could all go to Lazuli! She placed the baby food in the cupboards but as for the blind folds?

"Amanda we are not burning anything."

"Oh come on! Destruction involves fire!"

"Everything is flammable Amanda!"

"You don't know that!"

* * *

Amanda peeked into a container and turned away in horror.

"Oh god!" She screeched as Mandarin peered in and backed up.

In there sat a few open diapers, filled with melted chocolate remains of several candy bars. Even though the thought of candy sounds lovely, then melted and placed in a diaper is nasty.

"What have I done to deserve this? Lately, what have I done?" Mandarin lamented as Amanda tried to pull herself together.

"I'm done! I am not eating that!" Amanda exclaimed, walking away with her hands up.

"Who would?! It's a diaper!"

Mandarin shivered and grabbed the container.

"Where are you going?" Amanda asked.

"To take this where it belongs!" Mandarin huffed.

When Mandarin got into the robot, he opened the window and threw the diapers out. He threw the container aside and dusted his hands.

"No one should have to suffer through that." He huffed before going back down.

He found Amanda looking over an array of items. He went over to her and found that it was a bunch of prizes for each game someone would win. They all looked really new too, not stuff someone would find in their house and recycle them. Amanda rubbed her chin, deep in thought.

"Hmm you think since we're the only people here, we get to keep all of the prizes?" Amanda pondered.

The two looked at each other before quickly going through them. They both grabbed for the pot holders and glared at each other.

"Okay look-!"

"I actually need these." Mandarin huffed.

"Your hands are too big for them!"

"I could use my tail for them."

"Your tail is made of energy!"

"It can still feel pain! Ask Chiro!"

Amanda scoffed and handed them to him.

Soon after that, after all of the prizes were sorted that was when Amanda really lost it. Mandarin made a quick note to never give her fruit punch that was filled with sugar again.

Mandarin found various rolls of toilet paper.

"Why do they have a game where they measure the expecting mother's stomach? That is a mistake and an unhappy pregnant mother waiting to happen." Mandarin sighed before he saw a blur and Amanda ran off with half of them.

She then began throw them all across the room.

"TP party!" She squealed, throwing more toilet paper rolls.

Mandarin huffed and rubbed his forehead. Man she was even more annoying than before! Oh well, as long as it wrecks this party even more. He felt hungry again and went over to the table with the food on it.

Amanda twirled as she threw another roll on the coffee table before falling back onto the recliner. Mandarin shook his head but smiled.

This was an actually pretty good baby shower.

* * *

The others were on their way back from their errands. Willow texted Amanda but she hasn't really heard anything. Hopefully Mandarin still doesn't know about all of this.

The team kept walking, walking by a citizen sitting in an alley.

"Hey! Hyperforce!" He called out.

As they turned to him, he raised a hand.

"Tell the little lady with the pigtails that the cake is mighty delicious and that I said thanks!" He said, giving them a toothless smile.

Antauri frowned.

"Uh what cake?" Otto asked.

"The pink one! It kinda looked like a half a binkie or something." The man said, scratching his beard.

Everyone's eyes widened and they turned to each other.

"They didn't-!"

They saw two diapers from one of the games out on the street.

Brittany groaned and covered her face.

"I wonder who did that." Chiro sighed.

When they got to the trashed base, Amanda was sitting on the recliner and Mandarin was next to her.

"And so I said, stop talking shit Carl!" Amanda said before laughing hard.

She sounded really out of it and she was wearing a present bow on her head. The two then noticed the others shocked and peeved faces.

"Surprise!" Amanda cheered, throwing her glass of punch in the air.

"Surprise." Mandarin said, giving them jazz hands.

Gibson nearly tripped over a fallen chair.

"What did you two do?!" He asked.

Mandarin shrugged.

"I said I didn't want a baby shower. You should have listened to me." He said.

Chiro sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"We thought that you might end up liking it." He said.

"Oh I did, I liked destroying it." Mandarin smirked.

Willow was to say, unsurprised that all of this happened. Even though she would have had some fun at a baby shower, Mandarin would have just complained and be all mad at everyone.

"I can't believe you two, especially you Amanda. Why did you tell him and have him accompany you in destroying his own baby shower?" Gibson scolded.

Amanda raised her arms a bit.

"Hey, he wanted to destroy it, I just gave him the idea. Besides he already heard about it before I even mentioned it to him." She said.

The others froze as Mandarin shrugged.

"Next time, plan somewhere that isn't near the kitchen...or in the hallway in general." He said before sipping what's left of the fruit punch.

Sprx bit his lip and smiled.

"Um...thank you." He said and everyone turned to him, confused.

Sprx sighed.

"You know I really didn't want to go to this baby shower either. I mean really didn't want to go. I know I was just going to suffer some stupid cheesy party. That and I knew Mandarin was going to hate it, so why throw him a baby shower if he was just going to hate it?" Sprx huffed.

"Perhaps his constant denial of having a baby shower meant he wanted one?" Jinmay pondered.

Mandarin shook his head a bit, a sad smile on his face.

"No..." He breathed.

Trent looked over at the others.

"Yeah I kinda thought it was pointless to have one if he didn't really want one. He'd just complain the whole night."He said.

Otto looked around, that was true. He was going to try to cheer Mandarin up through the whole thing but...since this happened...

Antauri sighed and closed his eyes.

"You two will clean this up." He said.

Mandarin shrugged.

"That's what I was going to do later anyway." He said before realizing that Amanda completely passed out.

"However...that's going to wait until tomorrow. Someone's sleeping on the job." Mandarin said as Amanda snored.

Chiro sighed.

"Alright team...I guess the shower's over." He said.  
Before anyone could leave Mandarin piped up, "Thank you, this is actually the most fun I had in awhile."

The others turned to him as he laid Amanda down on the couch, pulling a blanket over her. He was smiling and actually looked kinda...kinda satisfied.  
Otto couldn't help but smile a bit too. When he agreed to throw a surprise baby shower for Mandarin, all he wanted was Mandarin to end up happy. In the end, he did. The others soon felt the same way, at least they got their end product.

"If you have any more kids, just let us know if you want to destroy another baby shower." Nova huffed as most of the others already left.

"Listen to me when I say no next time."

"Then let us do some nice stuff for you."

"Alright."

"Alright." Nova said before leaving.

Willow was the only one staying in the room, deciding to hang out for a bit. She sat on the recliner as Mandarin began to finish what's left of the food when Arwen came in, present in hand. She blinked and looked around.

"U-umm...is the party over?" She asked.

Mandarin began to snicker loudly as Willow scratched her chin.

"Well...umm..."

* * *

Ahh nothing like destroying your own party am I right? Okay I've never done that but still, thanks for reading!


	28. Chapter 28

Heeeey! Again sorry for just one chapter last week, school got nuts and I was busy. So enjoy this maybe drama filled chapter. Idk Mandy needs to chill either way.

* * *

By next week, tracking Diamanda became impossible. Wherever she ran off to, it was pretty far.

"You think she went to Sueronia?" Brittany asked.

Arwen sighed and sat back.

"I mean that's possible, but that would also mean that she'll have the council brief her in on who she is." She said.

"The council?" Antauri asked.

"They're in charge of helping amnesiac Sueronians figure out who they are." Arwen briefly explained.

Willow nodded before Brittany stood up.

"Well I gotta practice, the auditions are still a good few months away." She said, leaving.

"Have fun." Nova chirped before sipping her drink.

Trent sat for a minute before getting up and following her.

"Trent?" Willow asked.

"I'll be...right back." He said before leaving the room.

Antauri got up too.

"Willow, it is about time for your training." He said, causing Willow to nod and run off with him.

"Don't make out too much you two!" Amanda chirped, causing the two to glare at her.

Willow pointed at her.

"Don't make me get Mandarin on you." She threatened before leaving.

Amanda gulped and shrunk back a bit. She did not want to deal with a hormonal Mandarin today.

In the training room Brittany was dancing along to one of the songs that would play in the concert portion of the auditions.

" _Right before your eyes, a river is flowing. It's a vast and wide river. Even though it's dark and deep_ -" she sung before turning towards Trent.

She stopped and paused the song.

"Oh hey, you came to watch?" She asked.

Trent briefly nodded, but Brittany felt there was something else to his visit.

"Um actually there's something I want to ask." He said.

Brittany waited as Trent fumbled with his hoodie zipper before he paused, looking right at her.

"I want to audition for Starlights." He announced, serious.

Brittany blinked. Trent did say something about wanting to join Starlights when he watched their concert on Natulis. Even so, not that she minded the idea of him joining, there was a problem.

"Trent...you do realize that male Sueronians only join Starlights to fight right?" She asked.

Trent stepped forward.

"Yeah, but I want to sing. I want to actually be on stage, not to only protect other members but to perform."

Brittany nodded, understanding. She went up to him.

"Yeah but Trent, the Gary Stus who do want to go performing join other co-ed groups or join an all male one. Starlights have been all female for years, they may have been co-ed at some point but I don't know if they'll have it co-ed this time." She explained to him.

Trent shrugged.

"Sounds like a challenge to me." He said.

Brittany sighed.

"Alright, you can try. I don't know if they'll let you in but you can try." She said before turning to her music.

"First things first, you need to send in an audition tape." She said.

Trent smiled widely and nodded.

"Now which song do you want to use. They're really set on AKB48 songs so-?"

"Seaside Cherry sounds good." Trent chirped.

Brittany looked at him, giving him a weird look.

"Hey I love that song, don't judge me." He huffed.

Brittany rolled her eyes but smiled.

"Alright, let's get started."

* * *

While everyone was enjoying themselves, they felt a chill enter the room as Mandarin entered the command center. He hasn't had any sleep and his mood swings were on the search for blood.

No one moved or did anything as Mandarin placed himself near Otto, a plate filled with weird food combinations in one hand and another on his bump. Annoyed by the silence he narrowed his eyes.

"What's with the sudden silence? Afraid I might yell at someone for saying the wrong thing?" He asked, gripping the plate a bit.

Otto quickly turned to him and was about to snuggle him when Mandarin frowned at him.

"Not now, not in the mood." He said, causing Otto to sit back in his seat.

Chiro laughed nervously.

"It-it's just a quiet day today." He said, trying to get on Mandarin's good side.

Mandarin raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Is that why before I came up there was chatter amongst you?" He questioned, causing Chiro to sweat.

He frowned at him a bit more before eating, still annoyed. Chiro sighed, he was safe for now. Mandarin shivered before pushing away some olives.

"Why did I think having olives would be a good idea? I should have had grapes instead." He huffed, continuing to eat anyway.

Sprx and Gibson looked at each other, wanting to escape before Mandarin would explode at them. They began to get up and sneak away when Mandarin glared at them.

"And where are you going?" He sharply asked, causing the two to freeze where they stand.

The two slowly looked back at a now peeved Mandarin.

"What's the hurry you two, afraid that I might bite your heads off? Because that's not a bad idea given your behaviors right now." He huffed.

Gibson gulped as Sprx decided to be brave for a second.

"What did we do wrong now?" He asked, frustrated.

If looks could kill, the two would already be six feet under. Mandarin glared harder and no matter how much Otto tried to soothe him, his anger would not subside.

"You're avoiding me. Whenever I enter the room, most of you seem to leave pretty quickly." Mandarin accused.

Sprx and Gibson knew they were dead. It was true, his mood swings were getting worse and the two wanted to be as far away from the mess as possible. Tilamat said it was going to get worse before it would eventually edge away. His advice? Wear helmets and lots of armor.

Sprx and Gibson backed up a step, really not liking where this was going.

"Pray tell, am I annoying you? Am I overbearing, terrible to be around, moody, crazy?" Mandarin snarled.

Amanda got up, attempting to save Sprx and Gibson.

"N-now Mandarin settle down I'm sure that's not-" she tried to calm him but with one glare Amanda clamped up.

"You stay out of this."

Amanda closed her mouth and nodded, sitting down. Gibson huffed and placed his hands out in defense.

"Look, we don't mean anything hurtful by it-"

"Oh so you admit you're avoiding me."

Gibson closed his eyes.

"What I'm trying to say is that whenever you get angry recently, you tend to um..."

Arwen kept mouthing him to shut up, trying to save his skin.

"Tend to what?"

Gibson felt his throat dry as everyone began to back up.

"Tend to um...unleash your rage at everyone and act just the tiniest bit irrational." He said, causing Arwen to groan and turn away.

He was so dead. Gibson may be smart, but how to deal with Mandarin's mood swings he was very tactless. Mandarin's fists tightened as the others hid behind their chairs.

"Irrational? Irrational?!" Mandarin demanded.

Gibson backed up, knowing that he's really done it now.

"Sprx please-!" He then saw that Sprx was already gone.

Gibson blinked, mouth open.

"He-he abandoned me!" He thought as he saw a long shadow cover his line of sight.

Gibson didn't want to turn around, because if he did he would have to face the storm that was about to hit him.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to be me right now?" Mandarin demanded, sounding both angry and hurt.

Gibson gulped and slowly turned to a very upset Mandarin. He shook at his glare.

"You try to get sleep with something kicking your stomach every night, you try dealing with feeling much heavier than before, you try dealing insane cravings that either disgust you or is actually pleasing, you try dealing with these mood swings by yourself! Mood swings that have somehow made everyone hate you! Do you not understand how that feels?!" Mandarin finished, realizing that tears were now forming in his eyes.

He quickly wiped them and turned.

"I'm done! Clearly all of you want nothing to do with me and quite frankly I don't blame you." Mandarin huffed before going to the transport tube.

"Mandarin that's not-!" Arwen tried to say but he was already gone.

A tomb like silence fell over everyone as they came out of their hiding places. Chiro gulped as Gibson froze, still shaking. How many months left till Lazuli was born? Four?

Arwen closed her eyes and exhaled.

"You couldn't have handled that better?" She asked, remembering a situation like this when she was pregnant with Willow.

Gibson shook.

"Come on Arwen, give him a break." Chiro said.

"I-it's just whatever we would say, he would still get upset. Gibson just couldn't win." Amanda defended.

Arwen turned to her and crossed her arms.

" Even so Amanda, he's having a difficult time right now. His hormones are really stressing him right now and we all need to be there for him. Not avoid him, that's how this whole mess started." She said, causing most of the others to look down.

Otto raised his hand.

"I haven't been avoiding him." He said.

Arwen's eyes softened.

"I know Otto, I know you've been trying to help him. I'm talking about some of the others."

Otto nodded and looked to where Mandarin left.

"I'm gonna talk to him." He said, getting up.

Arwen nodded, wanting to go too.

"We'll be back, find Sprx because all of you need to talk about this." She said, following Otto.

Most of the others agreed as the two left. Gibson was still frozen before he fell over, wheezing.

* * *

Otto peered into the base, since Mandarin no longer lived in the storage room. He was prepared to give Mandarin some of his cookies he made last night, but Arwen advised not to give it to him right away. The two looked around until they heard sniffling and shuddering. Otto perked his ear at the bedroom door, guessing that Mandarin was in there.

"Mandy? You in there?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Leave me be." Mandarin's depressed voice came through the door.

Otto smirked and clawed at the door.

"What are you doing?" Arwen asked.

"It's a thing I've been doing lately whenever he gets like this." Otto whispered before turning towards the door.

"But sweetie! I wanna smooch your face!" Otto cooed, still scratching at the door.

"Not when I'm like this, all moody and gross." Mandarin sniffled.

"You're not gross! You're cute!" Otto chirped.

"No I'm not."

"I disagree! You're so cute I just wanna cuddle you forever!"

Mandarin's sniffles heightened and so did Otto's clawing.

"Please open the door Mandarin. I have cookies!" Otto said lovingly.

The door then unlocked and Otto smiled. Arwen blinked but smiled, maybe using the cookies right away was a good idea.

When the two entered the room, Mandarin was on his side holding a pillow. His face was red and tears were streaming down from it. He quickly hid his face with the pillow.

"Don't look, I'm a mess." He sniffled.

Otto darted towards the bed and hopped right on it, setting the cookies aside. He tried to get the pillow away so he could kiss him but Mandarin wouldn't budge.

"Okay! I'll just kiss your tummy instead." Otto said, crawling down to his bulging midsection.

He began to kiss Mandarin's round belly until he felt a tear stained pillow hit his head.

"Stop it, that's weird." Mandarin snickered, sniffling still.

Otto smiled and crawled up to him. He laid on his side and held Mandarin's face.

"Don't." Mandarin whined, crying again.

"You don't have to cry, I don't want to see you sad." Otto said softly, wiping his tear stained face.

Arwen stood back, letting Otto comfort him.

"I'm terrible." Mandarin grumbled.

"No you're not, you're just really moody." Otto chirped and Arwen thought that would set him off but she was surprised when Mandarin snickered.

"Like that is really helping." Mandarin huffed, smiling.

He then rested against Otto and continued to weep, silently. Otto rubbed his head.

"I know, the mood swings are terrible aren't they?" Otto said, letting him weep.

Arwen felt the depressing aura Mandarin had before shift. Thank goodness. Otto smiled, every time one of his mood swings went haywire, he'd always be there to dry away Mandarin's tears. And give him food too, that also helps.

Mandarin wept a bit more before sighing.

"When I have Lazuli I'd better be back to normal." He huffed, wiping his eyes.

Otto snickered and kissed his head.

"You will be, don't worry." He said.

"I better, otherwise we will go into debt over tissues." Mandarin grumbled.

Otto snickered and Mandarin raised his head to kiss him. Otto smiled as he kissed back. They pulled apart and Otto stroked Mandarin's head.

"You're awfully cute when you cry." He complimented.

Mandarin sniffled and huffed.

"No I'm not, it's embarrassing." He huffed.

Otto snickered and kissed his tear stained face.

"Well I still think you're cute."

Mandarin smiled weakly before continuing to snuggle with him.

"I'm sorry..." Mandarin muttered.

"Hey now, you can't control your mood swings. So you don't really have to apologize that much." Arwen said.

Mandarin looked up at her sadly.

"Still, if they weren't so bad the others wouldn't avoid me like they do." He said.

Arwen sighed, oh the team were so gonna get a talking to.

"Well that's something you need to talk to them about because they shouldn't be avoiding you. You're clearly hurt by it." She said.

Mandarin looked off to the side. Maybe a little.

"Look when I was pregnant with Amanda and Willow, my mood swings were terrible too. So I know how stressed you must be feeling, especially since this is your first child." Arwen said, sitting on the bed.

Mandarin sniffled a bit, listening as Otto stroked his head.

"But you know what happened? I had them and each time, the mood swings just faded away. Yours will too, you just need lots of support right now." She said.

Mandarin grumbled, slightly agreeing. He still felt he needed some control over them but that is what he needed right now. Support.

"I guess..." He sighed.

Otto smiled and kissed him again. Mandarin held onto him as the two kept kissing. Otto then gave Arwen a look that said they needed to be alone for a while. Arwen nodded and left the room, letting the two kiss and snuggle for a while. Otto deepened the kiss before letting go and holding one side of Mandarin's face.

"You don't have to worry, you'll always have me whenever you get crazy." Otto said.

Mandarin stared at him for a second, then tears welled up in his eyes. He quickly began to wipe them.

"Awww Mandy!"

"I'm sorry! This keeps happening!"

"No it's okay!"

"You and your honey filled words!" Mandarin huffed as Otto kept kissing him.

* * *

"So Mandarin flipped out again?" Willow asked.

Amanda sadly nodded.

"Yeah and he is upset over a few of us avoiding him. But he's been so scary lately it's kinda hard to talk to him without him getting mad." She said.

Willow bit her lip, his mood swings were getting pretty bad. He didn't get angry around her, or at least not as badly as the others were getting. Still she did understand why he was so hurt by it and why everyone was scared of him.

"What should we do? I mean I know we gotta do something but if we avoid him anymore he's only going to get even more upset with us." Sprx said.

Gibson nodded, fully recovered from the angry rant he got from Mandarin earlier. Antauri then looked towards the others.

"I advise, whenever this happens we shouldn't take his outbursts personally and should be patient as they'll go away soon enough." He said.

"Though Tabithian pregnancy mood swings happen throughout the entire cycle and get worse towards the end." Gibson explained, fear in his voice at the end.

"Still, we should at least be more understanding."

"So double the patience and double the understanding." Nova suggested.

Everyone agreed to that, despite the fear they still had. They all agreed on the number one rule, don't ignore him.

They then heard a loud woosh and saw the three back up. Otto was on Mandarin's chest plate, kissing his cheek while the orange monkey nibbled on cookies.

"Otto no, I'm eating." Mandarin groaned.

"But I wanna kiss you."

"Otto no."

Arwen tilted her head towards Mandarin.

Everyone looked at each other, then at Mandarin.

"Erm Mandarin listen we-" Sprx began but Mandarin placed a hand up.

"No don't. If I was in your position I would hide from me too." He sighed.

Arwen looked at him, kinda confused at his response. Everyone else was confused too.

Mandarin crossed his arms.

"I mean I haven't injured anyone yet, so that's at least a plus. Still I can understand why you've been avoiding me." He said.

Willow leaned forward a bit.

"But you're still hurt by it, right?"

Mandarin pursed his lips and averted his gaze.

"Mandarin, you can admit it. You can admit that you're hurt." Antauri said soothingly.

Mandarin looked off to the side. It was really hard for him to admit any sort of feeling, unless it was really forced or a mood swing meltdown like he had earlier. He just couldn't admit to them any sort of vulnerability. Otto, Antauri, and even Willow of course were special cases, since they were closest to him but the others? Nope, not possible.

"M-maybe a little." He grumbled finally.

Jinmay but her lip, feeling bad for him.

"We didn't mean anything mean by it, but you were getting so terrifying lately we...we knew anything we would say would set you off." Chiro said.

"That and a buff guy like you having pregnancy mood swings is terrifying." Sprx wheezed.

Mandarin nodded slightly, that was a bit true. He was getting testy over everything.

"Still it was sort of...upsetting whenever I enter the room and everyone leaves." Mandarin huffed.

Gibson felt a twinge of guilt in his chest. He felt like Sprx and he really didn't like it. It wasn't just him either. The others that have been avoiding him, Sprx, Chiro, Nova even though she doesn't avoid him as much, and Amanda started to feel guilty too. He must have felt so lonely whenever they avoided him, and now they realize the error of their ways.

"W-we're sorry we made you feel that way." Gibson apologized, causing the others to nod.

Mandarin bit his lip, trying to avoid as much tears as he can.

"And I apologize for my behavior as well. However, know that you're not the only one who is suffering from this." He said, causing everyone to nod.

Sprx sighed, knowing that the mood swing drama won't end here. As Gibson said, it was only going to get worse.

Otto nuzzled him.

"Besides, seeing you cry is cute."

Mandarin glared at him.

"No, no it isn't!"

"Yes it is, it makes you sensitive."

Sprx snickered.

"It is nicer than having you being violently angry with us." He said.

Mandarin glared at him too.

"I'm not violent whenever I have these mood swings."

"Tell that to the kitchen table!"

Most of the others laughed but before Sprx and Mandarin continued to argue, Trent and Brittany came back up.

Brittany looked around, holding a cd in her hand.

"Um what did we miss? We heard yelling before." She said.

Mandarin sighed.

"It's long and stupid and I don't feel like talking about it anymore." He said.

Otto patted his face, assuring him that it wasn't stupid.

Brittany blinked but shrugged.

"I'll be taking this to the post office." She said to Trent before leaving.

Trent nodded and sat down, his voice now feeling a bit sore.

Nova looked over at him.

"What was that about?" She asked.

Trent looked around, holding back a smile.

"Nothing."

"Then what was with that cd Brittany had?" Chiro asked.

Trent looked around again.

"What cd?" He questioned.

Willow raised an eyebrow.

"Trent." She began, knowing he was lying.

A smile slowly grew on Trent's face.

"Well...I may have decided to audition for Starlights." He announced.

Everyone was frozen before a mix of reactions exploded.

"Wait! Wait! Since when?!" Amanda asked.

Trent shrugged.

"Since I found out they were taking auditions."

Willow blinked, not sure how to feel about this. For one it was amazing that he wanted to join a band he was so in love with but...it was all female wasn't it? That and if he does get in, he will have to be so far away.

Arwen's mouth dropped.

"Are they making it co-ed again?" She asked.

Trent shrugged.

"I dunno. I mean if I get in I guess that means they are." He said.

Arwen closed her mouth and nodded.

"Well if you have any questions or help with practicing, I'm available." She said.

Trent smiled widely.

"That would be amazing!"

Sprx laughed and placed his head on his hand.

"Wow, Trent is gonna be a pop star. Who would have thunk it, right Willow?" He looked at Willow, who was drifting off into space.

She blinked and turned to him.

"Oh! Yeah." She said, sounding happy for him.

When really she was worried for him.

* * *

Ah Willow, why are you so worried? Hmm anyway thanks for reading!


	29. Chapter 29

Another chapter in two days?! Woah! Anyway I'm supposed to be working on homework buuut it's like 10 am so I got plenty of time today. Anyway please enjoy!

* * *

Arwen's phone went off a few hours later. She held up a hand to the others and walked off.

"Hello?"

"Thank kami you didn't change your number!" A peppy voice chirped.

Arwen burrowed her brows in confusion before realizing.

"Oh Ami! I'm sorry I almost forgot you still use your weeb words." She sighed.

"Hey! They're not weeb words! They're Japanese!"

"Yeah yeah Terran words, anyway what is it? Last time you called you were screaming about getting engaged." Arwen said.

Ami huffed.

"Well now I wanna scream at how me and Marie just now found out you live on Shuggazoom! Why didn't you tell me!?"

Arwen held the phone away from her before placing it back near her ear.

"Well sorry! Wait you and Marie live on Shuggazoom now?! Since when?!" She asked.

"Since a few years ago! This planet has a lot of neat jobs for me and Marie said this planet was much more exciting than Korlan 3 was." Ami explained.

Arwen agreed, it was much more exciting.

"Well this is amazing, maybe we can catch up later?"

"Omg we so should! It would be so sugoi!"

Arwen held back several giggles, she really hasn't changed at all.

"Right now Marie is going through all the audition tapes for the new Starlights. She said there's about 36 auditionees and counting."

"Oh boy, well tell her good luck."

Ami giggled.

"So maybe you, me, Emerald, and Rose can get together later? Emerald's helping Marie with auditions and Rose said something about visiting Brittany."

Arwen nearly dropped her phone. Rose and Emerald are here too?! This was like a Starlight reunion!

"Y-yes of course! I'll call Rose in a bit." She said.

"Kay! Maybe the ice cream shop at six?"

"Sure sounds good."

After saying their goodbyes, Arwen looked like she was on cloud nine. Willow looked over at her.

"Mom? Who was that?" She asked.

Arwen turned to her daughter.

"Old friends I haven't seen in years." She sighed happily.

Willow blinked but smiled.

"Well that's good." She said before continuing to talk to Mandarin.  
Arwen sat down next to her, her smile frozen on her face.

Brittany, meanwhile, was on her way back from the post office when she saw a familiar person at Arwen's door step.

She was tall and had long brown fluffy like hair and deep pink eyes. She wore a long puffy sleeved white shirt and a long white skirt.

Brittany rubbed her eyes, trying to make sure that the person was real.

"M-mom?!"

The woman turned to her and smiled widely.

"Brittany!"

The two ran to each other and hugged tightly. Brittany's mom let go after a minute.

"So did you and Willow-?"

Brittany nodded, smiling. Her mom sighed in relief.

"That's good, how is she?"

"Good, she found out she's half Sueronian a while ago."

Her mom nodded and looked at the robot, floored by the size of it.

"Wow so all of you live here?" She asked.

Brittany pointed to the condo next door.

"That's where me and Arwen live." She explained, her mom nodding in understanding.

"Ohh, right."

She then fully turned to the robot before looking back at Brittany.

"Would it be alright if I came in?" She asked.

"I don't see why you can't."

Her mom smiled and touched her choker. It would be good to see Willow and her family again.

* * *

Most of the others went off to do their own things, with Sprx, Otto, and Chiro playing video games. Gibson decided to stay to work on trying to find Diamanda.

Mandarin went back down to the base to work on a few things before attempting to take a nap.

Arwen was all too excited. Ever since Starlights disbanded, the majority of the members went across the universe. Some got married and had children, some did their own careers, some continued to sing, but there were others that were hunted down by Sueronian hunters. She decided to read for a while, listening to the trio play games.

She heard Brittany come back up and didn't really turn.

"I hope it's ok if I brought a guest." Brittany said.

Chiro looked back at her.

"Yeah it's fine."

Arwen didn't look up as someone walked up right behind her.

"Since when did you read books on cooking?"

Arwen whipped her head up and nearly felt her heart leap out of her chest from shock.

"Holy hell!" She exclaimed as she got up.

"Don't scare me like that!" Arwen huffed before hugging Brittany's mom.

Everyone looked over at the two.

"Umm Arwen? Who's she?" Chiro asked.

The two broke apart and turned towards the others.

"Oh I'm sorry. This is Brittany's mother Rose. She...um..." Arwen said before realizing the boys were looking at her all lovey dovey.

"Rose!" She huffed, turning to her.

Rose blinked but then pouted.

"Fine, but you're no fun." She huffed, snapping her fingers.

The boys loving gazes stopped. Sprx shivered and he rubbed his arms.

"Don't ever do that again." He shuddered.

Rose giggled.

"Sorry I just wanted to see if it still works after all these years." She said, while Brittany held her head in embarrassment.

"I swear to god mom."

Gibson shook his head, trying to forget what just happened.

"Anyways Arwen you were saying?"

Arwen nodded.

"Anyways, she helped Brittany shake away from Willow's aura and convinced her to come here." She explained.

Rose nodded.

"I tried to help her throughout their lives but Willow's aura always pulls Brittany back into making her life hell. I guess it now began to weaken last year." Rose explained.

Everyone was hung on that last part.

"What do you mean by weaken?" Gibson asked.

Arwen and Rose looked at each other.

"Well a year ago we began to suspect that Willow was finally getting a hold of her aura, at least with the people on Natulis. This was during the time they started going off on their own adventures, and as time went on Brittany became less and less like a bully and...more like herself again." Arwen explained.

Brittany held her arms and looked down a bit.

Otto sat up.

"So what does that mean for us?" He asked.

Arwen smiled a bit.

"It means that there is some aura affecting you, but it isn't by a lot."

Everyone looked at each other, completely surprised. So their friendship with Willow...it really was all on their own! That was amazing news!

"Do you think we should tell Willow this later? She'd be really happy to know that." Gibson said, smiling.

Arwen nodded.

"It really would." She said, knowing that Willow's anxiety about her aura would be laid to rest.

Chiro got up from his game and walked over to Rose.

"Do you need anything to drink?" He asked.

"Water sounds good thank you."

As Chiro left the room, Rose turned to Brittany.

"So how's practice going? I heard they moved the date up." She said.

"Yeah, a lot more auditionees are coming in. Other then that, pretty good." She said.

Rose smiled and ruffled her hair.

"You'll do great, you might become as big as Crystal or me someday." She said, smirking slightly.

Brittany blushed.

"Mom please!"

Otto was then confused.

"Big as you? What are you saying?" He asked, narrowing his eyes as Chiro came back.

Rose looked over at Arwen, giving her the puppy dog eyes.

Arwen raised an eyebrow.

"And you used to keep me out of line. Fine! Just don't use your aura!" She huffed.

Rose nodded and in an instant a flash of light covered her body. Her entire appearance changed as she looked much younger. Her hair color reflected that of a sunset and her eyes were a light shade of satin pink. She had a long pink dress and wore a golden crown on her head.

She sighed and smoothed her dress.

"Oh it's been too long!" She sighed.

Everyone looked on in awe, minus Arwen and Brittany.

"Wow y-you look-!" Chiro began.

Rose twirled.

"I know, old. But I haven't used this form in so long." She lamented.

Arwen laughed.

"Are you kidding me?! You look like you're twenty again!"

Rose stopped twirling.

"You think so? Because my back is hurting a little." She said.

Arwen raised an eyebrow.

"Do you not remember your wings?" She asked.

Rose blinked before snapping her fingers.

"Oh yeah!" She said, sprouting one huge pair of white angel wings.

Everyone was now even more floored than before.

"Don't worry! They're not even that real. They're fabricated to look and feel like wings." Rose assured the four.

"They still look pretty." Otto chirped.

"Oh! Thank you." Rose chirped as Brittany covered her face with her hand.

Sprx narrowed his eyes a bit.

"Wait a sec...aren't you that lead singer girl of that band that Trent wants to join?" He questioned.

Rose's eyes widened.

"Trent wants to join Starlights?!" She nearly yelled in shock.

She then realized the previous question and straightened her back, pulling her wings together.

"Oh, right. Yes, I am Rosella Scarlette Serenity Lilac Diamond." She introduced herself, giving them a slight curtsy.

Everyone was silent before Sprx asked loudly, "What's with Sueronians and incredibly long names?!"

Rose shrugged.

"It's to show how meaningful or unique we are." She said.

More silence.

"Okay they're our code names for the council to figure out who we are." Rose sighed.

Everyone nodded, now getting the picture.

"So wait why are you here?" Chiro asked.

Rose clung to her daughter.

"To visit her! I haven't seen my baby in so long!" She cooed as Brittany tried to edge away.

"Mother please!" Brittany squeaked, her cheeks red.

Arwen snickered loudly as Rose turned to her.

"Is Trent really going to join Starlights?" She asked, smiling a bit.

"As far as I know, Brittany just sent in his audition tape." Arwen said.

Rose smiled widely.

"That's amazing! I've heard him sing and I know he shouldn't have much trouble getting in." Rose said.

Brittany looked up at her.

"Well we don't know if they made it co-ed again or not so he might have some trouble." She said.

Rose frowned.

"Seriously? Well best of luck to him anyway." She said.

Chiro walked up to them.

"Wait what do you mean by co-ed?" He asked.

"They used to be co-ed at some point but then for the remainder of their years they became an all female band."

Chiro nodded slightly.

Trent and Willow entered the room.

"I know he has money and all, but that doesn't give him the right to literally dive into coins. He should have some sort of massive head injury or something." Trent huffed.

"Maybe he is so rich, he defies the laws of reality." Willow suggested.

Trent rolled his eyes before looking at the others. He saw Rose and froze instantly.

Rose waved.

"Hi Trent, it's good to see you again. Your mother says-"

Trent then fell over onto his knees, too shocked to even move.

"Uh oh." Rose muttered as Trent began to wheeze.

* * *

"So how long was he like that for?" An older woman in gothic attire asked.

"A good twenty minutes before he calmed down." Rose giggled.

Arwen sighed.

"Well that happens when you find out you've known your favorite idol your entire life." She said.

"Well I'd be like that too, I wonder if we should tell him you're his aunt Emerald?" Rose asked a slightly older woman with dark green hair.

Emerald put up a hand.

"For your information, he already knows that. I mean who do you think got him into Starlights in the first place?" She said, crossing her arms and smiling.

"Wait he knows you're his aunt?!" A chubby girl with freckles, wearing an anime shirt, and had blond hair asked.

Emerald smirked.

"Of course he does, I told him my parents adopted me so that he wouldn't catch on about him being half Sueronian."

The girl with the anime shirt's mouth dropped.

"Well! That's good for him to know." She said.

The goth girl sighed and looked at Arwen worriedly.

"Now I know you care about Trent Arey, but I don't know if management is going to let him join." She said sadly.

Emerald slammed her hand on the table.

"He has to Marie! He's such a good singer!" She exclaimed.

Marie sighed.

"All Sueronians can sing Emerald. The problem is that management really set on making Starlights all female again." Marie explained, setting her laptop down.

"So if he wants to get in, he has to practice really hard and really have something different than the other auditionees."

Arwen and Rose looked at each other. Was Trent really special enough for that? He's not even that powerful of a sueronian! However maybe that's what could get him in. Arwen clenched her hands together, praying for as much luck as possible for Trent.

"We'll do what we can." Arwen said.

Marie nodded and felt two arms wrap around her waist.

"Marie you need to stop making everything so serious! It's unkawaii!" The freckles girl huffed.

"Only when it's necessary Ami dear. Besides this is a generally serious discussion." Marie huffed.

Ami pouted but leaned into her.

"It's still unkawaii."

Arwen sighed, she was never gonna let go of that anime shtick.

Rose turned to the ice cream lady.

"Another banana split please!" She chirped.

Arwen giggled and ate a bit more of her chocolate ice cream. It was nice seeing them all again.

Then the next thing Arwen knew, Marie was face deep in ice cream due to Ami accidentally falling to the floor.

And Sueronians were supposed to be graceful.

* * *

Mandarin turned over, now just beginning to wake up. He sighed as he got up and left the room to grab something to eat.

He felt better after that nap, however what happened with him yelling at Gibson and Sprx and Otto comforting him later still hung in his mind. Yes it was taken care of later after the talk they all had, but the after effects still lingered.

Mandarin nibbled on a peach covered in tomato sauce as he peered outside the base. He then noticed a box outside. He picked it up and looked at the note.

 _'Mandarin,  
A few things to get you through your mood swings.  
\- Antauri' _

Mandarin looked around before taking the box in. He opened it to find several items that made Mandarin...confused to say the least.

There was a container full of tea, bath salts, three candy bars, a candle that had a scent of lavender, two new fresh books with one on philosophy and another on pregnancy, a large stress ball, and a whole set of different condiments and toppings, including sprinkles.

"The hell do I need these fo-?!"

He then turned to the peach covered in tomato sauce. Actually the sprinkles don't look too bad right now.

"Antauri you're the weirdest being I've ever met." He huffed, silently thanking him.

Antauri watched from afar as Mandarin put a few sprinkles on top of the peach and eating it.

He smiled a bit before going back up. At least he was happy now.

* * *

Aww Antauri! That's so sweet! Anyway I reused Rose from a previous fandom where she was a villain and basically re did her entire story. And gave her a kid. Anyway thanks for reading!


	30. Chapter 30

Hey another chapter! So if you guys really like this fic and think it's good and all...you should wait till my next fic. Because that's when not only do I put down the whole parody thingy on fanfiction tropes, but that's when I really let loose on the feels and everything...especially with stuff involving Mandarin. Please enjoy!

* * *

Sprx tapped his fingers on the table. He looked at the clock, and groaned. Why were they up so late? They can plan in the morning!

"So we know that Skelemandarin and Sage are still in the Savage lands and building an army to invade the city. What we need to do is think of battle strategies for when they do invade." Chiro said.

The others nodded. Sprx felt himself dozing off before Nova elbowed him awake.

Gibson thought for a bit.

"Perhaps we should split into groups and shrink the numbers of the formless and attack the two when they're out numbered." He suggested.

Antauri looked over at him.

"We could, but what if they spread the army out so that it would be harder for us to fight them all off?" He pondered.

"We could use a distraction to gather them all together." Willow suggested.

Everyone nodded.

"Yeah but what?"

Sprx thought on it and an idea soon slammed him.

"What about a Sueronian?" He suggested.

Willow turned to him, giving a suspicious look. Sprx held up a hand.

"I mean we could have a Sueronian, not you Willow, to distract the formless with their aura. When Brittany's mom came over, her aura made us for a second fall for her and pay as much attention to her as possible. If we have something like that to even distract the formless of all things we could easily wipe them out!" Sprx explained.

Everyone looked at each other.

"Erm Sprx you do realize that formless are incapable of falling in love right?" Gibson pointed out.

Sprx shrugged.

"It still might work. I mean they can probably even get worms to fall in love with them, Gibs." He said, causing Gibson to shiver.

Willow sighed.

"Do you really want to use a Sueronian to be bait for an army? The poor soul will have thousands fight over them. That sounds like a terrible idea in general." She huffed.

Chiro tilted his body a bit, his hand on his chin.

"Not as long we can ensure them their safety."

Willow glanced at him then looked at Sprx.

"Willow, trust me. It can work."

Willow looked off to the side.

"I'm just not a fan of having a Sueronian be the object of someone's depraved affection and be the sex appeal." She thought to herself.

"So if we do go with this idea, who would even want to be up for this?" Jinmay asked.

Before the others could bounce off ideas, they heard someone entering the command center. They all turned to see Mandarin with several grocery bags. Mandarin was humming and was about to enter the kitchen when he noticed the others. He glanced around.

"Evening." He said as he began to enter the kitchen.

Nova quickly got up.

"Wait Mandarin! What are you doing up?" She asked.

Mandarin paused before holding up the grocery bags.

"Getting groceries."

"At two am?!"

Mandarin raised an eyebrow.

"When you get insufferable cravings that keep you up at night, you do what you must." He said.

Gibson crossed his arms.

"You could have asked us to get you what you needed. It's rather unsafe for you to-"

"Please! Like anyone would want to pick a fight with me at night and don't mention those two pests. I've got Tabithian sentries all around the city just in case." Mandarin huffed.

Otto walked up to him.

"Still you might get hurt."

"Otto I don't need a sitter, the store is just down the road. I can handle myself just fine." Mandarin said, patting Otto's head.

"Still!" Otto grumbled.

Willow huffed, that independence of his was admirable but with him being pregnant right now that independence was a bit dangerous.

"At least next time go with someone." She said.

"Like anyone would want to get up in the dead of night just to go to the store." Mandarin replied, rolling his eyes.

Otto raised his hand.

"I wouldn't mind." He said.

Mandarin looked down at him. Of course he wouldn't, but he still didn't want to wake Otto up each night. He needs his sleep.

"I can handle myself fine." He said, trying for the final time to get that through their heads.

Chiro groaned.

"Mandarin just have Otto go with you next time just in case." He huffed.

Mandarin looked down at Otto.

"Are you sure you'd be okay with it?" He asked.

Otto nodded.

"Yeah, don't worry. Couples that have a pregnant person go through stuff like this all the time." He said.

Willow raised a hand too.

"I can go some nights if he's too stubborn to wake up."

"Hey."

Mandarin looked off to the side.

"Then I guess it's fine, but the moment you start complaining-!"

Otto jumped up to him and wrapped his arms around his neck.

"Shush." He chirped, placing a finger on Mandarin's mouth.

Mandarin grumbled as Otto hopped down and went back to the others.

"What are you doing up anyway?" He asked as he went into the kitchen.

"We're figuring out battle strategies for when Sage and your clone attack again." Antauri explained loudly so that Mandarin could hear.

"Blowing my clone up would be nice." Mandarin's voice suggested.

Antauri sighed.

"We are not blowing him up."

"Why not?"

"Because we're not going to destroy him."

Mandarin quickly looked out at them, a confused and shocked expression on his face. Why wouldn't they?' He's evil!

"I will never understand your pacifist logic." He huffed before going back in the kitchen.

Chiro sighed as he went back inside. They knew this subject would be brought up again later.

"Okay so going back on the distraction." He said.

"I'm not doing it, I'm not bait." Willow huffed, crossing her arms.

"I didn't say that you had to. Maybe we could ask Brittany or maybe one of Arwen's friends." Chiro suggested.

Willow wasn't sure if her mother's friends would be up for such a task, but she could always ask them for their help.

"Now what I think we could do about it is-" Gibson began before they heard a loud thump.

Sprx fell from dozing off. Nova snickered and helped him back up.

"Maybe get some sleep?" She suggested.

Everyone looked at each other before agreeing.

"Mandy! I'm gonna sleep in your bed!" Otto chirped as everyone trudged off to bed.

"Okay." Mandarin said, eating what seemed to be pineapples, chicken rice, and gummy worms.

Willow entered the kitchen and grabbed a water before plopping down next to him.

She looked at the gummy worms.

"Can you hand me a red one?" She asked, receiving one.

The two shared a comfortable silence before Mandarin began to grumble.

"Why do they insist on not destroying him? He's just going to keep coming back." He said.

Willow glanced at him quizzically before realizing he was talking about his clone.

"Oh, that."

"If they try to imprison him, he's just going to break out again. If they banish him, he'll find some way to cause trouble. What are they even going to do about Sage?" Mandarin went on.

"For Sage Antauri said something about returning him to Trent's physical body. I don't know how but that might be how we'll defeat him." Willow explained.

Mandarin set down the fork.

"So they're going to destroy him, but not my clone?" He inquired, really not understanding the logic.

Willow sipped her water before setting it down.

"I don't get it either, but I can't help but get the feeling that...they don't want to."

"Why?"

Willow shrugged and turned to him.

"I don't know, maybe it has to do with what the Alchemist said a while back. You know, with how he 'could have been so much more'? Maybe they'll try to get him to reform like you did." She suggested.

"But I reformed due to Skeleton King forcing my corrupted power primate out of me. How are they going to do such a thing to someone who was literally created in evil?"

Willow leaned foreword and held up her head with her hands.

"Maybe help him reform on his own? I mean it can be done."

Mandarin sighed, she does have a point. It was still insane sounding but it could still work. The motives behind the idea of keeping his clone alive still stumped him. Maybe sometime he should ask the Alchemist on it. Mandarin had a feeling that he would get answers from him. For now, he has to focus on Lazuli.

"I will say, this isn't the weirdest craving you had so far."

"True, and I actually find this delectable."

* * *

The next day the others were enjoying themselves, having another planning session in a few hours.  
As Willow and Antauri watched Sprx, Otto, and Chiro play video games, they heard a loud thump behind them.

They all turned to see Trent kneeling on the floor, looking at his phone in shock. He seemed to shake and his breathing labored.

"Trent? What's wrong?" Willow asked as the others rushed over to him.

"I-I-I," he shakily held up his phone to reveal an email.

"I got in!" He exclaimed.

The email read that Trent's application was accepted and he was moving up to the concert portion of the audition.

Amanda squealed and hugged Trent as Otto joined in.

"That's amazing Trent!" Jinmay cheered.

"I was so scared when I read where it's from. I thought I got rejected." Trent wheezed, tears stinging his eyes.

"But you didn't, I'm glad you got in." Antauri said while Willow worriedly looked at him.

She was still worried and kind of...sad. Antauri sensed her feelings as he looked at her and made a silent note to talk to her about it.

"If I get into Starlights...if I get into Starlights!" Trent wheezed, realizing the heaviness of those words.

Amanda hugged him even tighter.

"My bff is gonna be a superstar!" She squealed.

Willow smiled a bit. Trent then quickly got up.

"I-I need to practice!" He exclaimed before darting out of the room.

"There he goes." Nova chirped.

Most of the others snickered before they went back to doing whatever. Willow however, still stood in her place before she felt Antauri's hand on her shoulder. She turned to him.

"Yes?"

Antauri tilted his head.

"Willow, is there something you need to talk about?" He asked.

Willow hesitated to respond before she nodded.

"Then come with me so we can discuss in private." He said, leading her to the tubes.

Willow glanced back at the tube Trent left in before looking back down.

* * *

"Now what seems to be troubling you?" He asked as he gave Willow her tea.

Willow hesitated, feeling as if she would come of as selfish when she would start talking.

"Um...about Trent joining Starlights." She began.

Antauri tilted his head, concerned.

"Are you not happy with him joining them?" He asked.

Willow snapped her head up and shook her head.

"No! No I'm happy for him! I really am it's just..." Her voice trailed off.

She sighed before continuing.

"I'm just worried...and sad." She explained.

"Why's that?"

Willow bit her lip and swallowed a growing lump in her throat. She gripped the sides of the cup before shakily exhaling.

"Trent has been my best friend since we were kids, he and I were always together. So I know how much Starlights mean to him but at the same time...I'm worried how him joining Starlights will affect our friendship." Willow explained.

Antauri nodded, letting her continue. Willow began to sniffle, angry at herself for the way she does.

"After the auditions, Brittany said they would go on a debut tour for several months and do all sorts of interviews. I'm just...I'm just not going to see him as much and...and I'm worried-"

"You're worried that he is going to change and you will be distant from him, right?" Antauri finished.

Willow froze up, the lump in her throat growing larger. Curse him for being so knowledgeable! She slightly nodded.

Antauri set down his cup and took her hand.

"Now I haven't known Trent as long as you have, but I can tell that he really cares about you. I don't think he would give up years of friendship for fame. It just doesn't sound like him." Antauri said.

Willow blinked back tears before silently agreeing. That is true, the guy has more kindness in him than his body would allow.

"However his schedule sounds like it would be very busy and he may not talk right away. So don't get discouraged if he doesn't reply right away."

Willow snickered but nodded, he sounded like her dad.

Antauri let go of her hand and rested at his side. He looked at her straight in the face.

"I think you should talk to him about this,. I mean he is your friend after all." Antauri pointed out.

Willow nodded again, showing a bit more confidence than before.

"Yeah, I think I will." She said before getting up.

Willow quickly finished her tea before beginning to leave Antauri's room. She stopped and looked back at him.

"Also, thank you. If it weren't for you and Mandarin talking to me, I think I would be in a much worse place than I was a few months ago." She said before smiling and leaving.

Antauri watched her go, smiling as a warm feeling flowed through him.

* * *

My sweet son Trent got in! Anywho thank you so much for reading!


	31. Chapter 31

Hello! So we're getting closer to the end actually! Or that's what my google docs say as me and my friend keep editing. So after this fic I'm gonna be as quick as possible to put up the next fic and work on the sequel of this one. The new fic called, "On A Doorstep" will most likely be shorter than this one but Idk. Please enjoy the practicing and Mandarin needs to chill 2: Electric boogaloo.

* * *

Brittany paced back and forth in front of Trent. Along with the others, they were in the training room getting ready to watch the two practice thanks to the virtual reality settings. This is so they could practice several songs in different concert settings.  
Willow sneaked in and peeked behind Mandarin, who looked back at her in confusion.

"Alright Trent! Don't think that just because you got in means things are gonna be easy for you. The concert auditions are going to be a living hell if you aren't prepared for them." Brittany said.

Trent nodded, determined as hell.

"I got the setlist for their concert and needless to say we have a lot to cover. We're going to tackle one of the more easier songs to learn before we finally move onto River." Brittany explained.

Trent sighed in relief. That's good because River has the hardest choreography to do. Brittany looked over at Gibson, who nodded and pushes a few buttons on the control panel. The room changed into a concert hall with many people both onstage and off stage. Trent and Brittany hopped onto the stage while the others took the seats.

"Okay the first song we're going to cover is Diamond Shout. You'll take Ami's position for the time being."

Trent nodded and ran to one side of the stage. Ami disappeared and Trent stood in her place. Brittany looked over at Gibson.

"Can you slow down the song a bit for him? Just so he can get the dance moves down better."

Gibson nodded and turned a dial ever so slightly. The song began and Trent followed along with the other dancers.

"Trent! Remember to be on point!" Brittany called out.

She received a nod and he attempted to stay in line with the other members.

 _"Love you so, I need you so, I swear I'll never let you go!"_ The chorus rang as Willow watched on.

Trent nearly stumbled a few times but he quickly picked himself back up. She thought back to what Antauri was talking about earlier, about how he wouldn't give up years of friendship. The nervous thought was still there but seeing Trent up there, being his usual self, sort of eased her worries.

The song soon finished and Trent collapsed, out of breath. He heard the others cheer for him as he stared at the floor.

He then saw two sneakers in front of him and he looked up at Brittany. She kneeled down to him, looking at him straight in the face. There was a deafening silence before she spoke.

"You're not that bad, but you so have some work that needs to be done." She said.

Trent stared blankly at her, surprised by her comment. He stumbled so many times though!

"Don't worry so much about your stumbling, you've just started." She said, causing Trent to jump a bit.

"A-alright." He said as the two got up.

Brittany smiled before turning to Gibson.

"Gibson! Turn to the song, 'An Excuse, Maybe!'" She said, causing Trent to clam up.

Willow sighed as the others watched in anticipation. This was going to be fun.

After a few more songs, including the difficult 'River', Trent sat down and guzzled down some water. He had to repeat some of the other songs twice just so he could get the moves down, completely on his own accord though.

River however? He wanted to take it up to seven times but Brittany quickly advised against it.

"Just get some rest for now, we'll pick up back again tomorrow to work on that song and Seaside Cherry." Brittany said before leaving.

Trent nodded and grabbed the next water bottle and began to drink it normally.

Sprx patted Trent's shoulder.

"You were pretty good man." He said.

"Yeah you shouldn't have a hard time getting through the concert auditions." Jinmay pointed out.

Trent looked up at her.

"Yeah but Arwen told me when she got back yesterday that I would have to have something different from the others. And no I'm not talking about my gender." He said before anyone could interject.

The others thought about it, trying to soothe Trent's worries, but since they don't know what the other Sueronians would be like. Amanda kneeled down to him.

"Maybe you'll find that something when you perform. Then you and the guys in charge will know." She suggested.

Trent bit his lip and tilted his head.

"Hmmm hopefully." He muttered.

As the others wanted to stay and talk for a bit longer, Mandarin noticed that Willow looked eager to talk to Trent. By the look on her face, she probably wants this conversation to be quiet too. Mandarin looked towards the group and began to push them out.

"Mandarin!" Nova exclaimed.

"Come on, we have plans to commence remember?" Mandarin huffed.

Willow turned to go with them but Mandarin mouthed her to stay. The group then left, leaving Trent and Willow alone.

"Shouldn't you be going with them?" Trent asked, sipping more water.

Willow then thought back to her conversation with Antauri. She shook her head and sat down next to him.

"Nah, besides there's something I wanted to talk to you about." She said.

Trent stopped drinking and set down his bottle.

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked, looking a bit worried.

Willow quickly turned to him.

"Oh no no it's not like that! It's just...I'm a bit worried." She admitted.

Trent scooted closer to getting.

"Worried? Why?" He asked.

Willow held her knees close to her.

"I mean, it's really dumb. I don't expect you to become some huge snob or anything."

"Yeah that really doesn't sound like me." Trent said flatly.

Willow sighed.

"It's just...I'm worried if you get in that we'll drift apart." She admitted, looking ahead.

Trent was quiet before speaking again.

"That ain't gonna be us."

Willow looked at him.

Trent fully turned his body towards her.

"If I do get in, I swear I'll send you messages when I can. I mean I know I'll be super busy but I'll try." He promised, giving her a small smile.

This caused Willow to smile too, her worries slowly going away.

"Also since when did you decide to give up on archeology?" She asked.

Trent shrugged.

"I didn't give up on it, I just think I may have a new purpose now." He said.

Willow smiled. She then frowned and poked his chest.

"Don't let them corrupt you." Willow huffed.

"I'm not that easily influenced Willow." Trent scoffed.

He went to hug her but she quickly pushed him away.

"Don't hug me! You're all sweaty!" Willow squealed.

"Well excuse me! No one gave a towel!" Trent huffed.

Willow laughed and playfully punched his shoulder.  
She then knew the two would be just fine.

* * *

The two kept planning well into next month with all the other things that kept piling up. The underground base was nearly done, only a few more guest rooms needed to be completed and they gave up on tracking Diamanda. They felt that she's probably well on her way to Sueronia by now and would probably be happier there. As for the plan in general, they decided to have Trent and Brittany distract the formless while the team fought them. The part of how to defeat Sage and Skelemandarin were still being developed, but they knew they still had some time before then.

Also of course, Mandarin's mood swings were getting worse. However instead of avoiding him, the others tried to settle him down whenever he got pissed off or begrudgingly weepy, which was a majority of the time. Even then the team felt they had to bring shields just in case, but thankfully no one got injured due to the whiplash of emotions. It was hell for all involved but they were trudging through it.

Yet all of the stress was getting to one red monkey.

Sprx groaned as the picnic table that was now in two.

"Mandarin! We don't own this table!" Nova told him as Mandarin angrily stormed off.

"Then have Otto fix it!" He snapped, causing Otto to flinch.

 _"Why don't you fix it since you broke it?!"_ Sprx angrily thought before running his temples.

"All of this over napkins, napkins!" He breathed.

Otto jumped up and went over to it.

"Don't worry I can fix this up asap!" He chirped before getting to work.

Sprx laid back and sighed, all he wanted was a nice day out for once. Fall/winter on Shuggazoom tended to end quickly in just three months and Spring was quickly on its way. However! Since Mandarin got so pissy over napkins not being big enough for him in general and snapping when someone suggested he used paper towels or regular towels instead, Sprx just wanted March to come as quickly as possible.

"Thanks Otto, thank goodness Arwen and Gibson are bringing the food now instead of before this happened." Chiro sighed, motioning the table.

"Someone should probably get Mandarin back here before he starts sobbing." Nova said, not wanting Mandarin to be surrounded by worried citizens.

"I would but uh..." Otto motioned the table.

Willow got up from her chair.

"I'll go get him." She said before going where Mandarin went.

Nova noticed the grumpy Sprx and went over to him.

"Hey, are you ok?" She asked, rubbing his back.

"It's just- so irritating!" He grumbled.

Nova sighed and patted his back.

"I know, but you gotta remember he can't help it. It'll be over in three months." She said.

Sprx turned to her.

"Three months is too long." He grumbled.

Nova huffed.

"Sprx you need to understand that this is just as hard for him. You're not the one carrying a baby." She explained.

"No but I can imagine." Sprx said before the table was fixed.

They then saw Mandarin being dragged by the hand back, saying no over and over again.

"I want to go home!" He huffed.

"You are going to eat here and you are going to stay!" Willow huffed before the two sat down.

Mandarin grumbled as he sat down,

"I hate this, I really hate this." He sighed.

"Don't worry you got three months left." Jinmay said.

"Three months is too long." He grumbled before Otto snuggled up with him.

Soon enough Arwen and Gibson came with the food and everyone began to relax for a while. Mandarin sipped his water as Otto gobbled everything on his plate.

He was actually starting to feel better, almost forgetting what made him so upset earlier. Some of the citizens came over and vividly talked to the team for a bit before leaving. Mandarin's body language made it clear that he didn't want to talk to anyone and he wants to keep it that way.

It wasn't until halfway through the meal that a group of citizens started to make their way towards them, including a few pregnant mothers. All of their eyes, set on Mandarin. Mandarin quickly looked around, trying to find a place to hide until they were gone. However the only hiding place he could find was behind a tree and it was far too narrow for him. He looked under the table and began to slowly lift it.

"Mandarin?!"

"Just let me hide!" Mandarin quickly said before the group finally made their way to the table.

"Hello M-"

"Damn it!" Mandarin exclaimed before putting his head down on the table, trying to hide himself.

Some of the expecting mothers looked a bit startled.

"Is he ok?" One of them asked.

Willow forced a smile.

"He's just not in a good mood right now." She simply said.

"No kidding." Sprx grumbled.

"Sprx!" Nova snapped and turned to the mothers.

"So uh what's up?" She asked.

One of the mothers smiled a bit and stepped forward.

"We were just about to ask about the baby's schooling but um..."

Mandarin looked up, no doubt annoyed.

"We'll...we'll ask another time."

Mandarin set his head back down, wanting all of them to leave. After a good while all of them left, Mandarin feeling relieved.

"I thought they'd never leave." He sighed as the team continued to eat.

"You could have been nice and talked to them." Gibson muttered under his breath.

Mandarin raised an eyebrow.

"I don't have to talk. I just want to enjoy my lunch, is that so wrong?" He asked.

"Well no-"

"Then leave it be." Mandarin said before grabbing thirds.

The others looked at each other before continuing to eat. After the table incident they don't want to have Mandarin's mood swings rile up again. Sprx's headache from before finally started to go away and he could relax for a bit.

Otto finished eating and snuggled back up with Mandarin, stroking his stomach. Instead of being embarrassed and asking him to stop in front of the others, he pulled Otto closer. Otto blinked and looked up at him.

"You're awfully snuggly today." He commented, smiling.

Mandarin shrugged a bit.

"Is that so wrong?"

"Nope! It's nice."

Otto snuggled up with him even more. Sprx snickered at the sight.

"Get a room." He said jokingly, trying to lighten things up.

However that was a mistake as Mandarin set down his fork and glared at the red monkey.

"Excuse me?" He demanded.

Sprx's smile dropped, not again.

"Look I was just trying to-"

"Be a inconsiderate jerk? Because that's what it sounds like." Mandarin snarled.

Everyone started the clear the table before Mandarin would break it again.  
Sprx frowned.

"Now come on, I wasn't trying to be an ass or anything. I was just trying to be playful and-"

Mandarin glared daggers at him.

"Really now? Because what you said was completely uncalled for!" Mandarin snapped.

"It was a joke Mandarin!"

"A disgusting joke!"

Chiro stood up.

"Alright alright! You two need to calm down, we're here to relax and enjoy ourselves. Not argue." He said.

Mandarin and Sprx looked off to the side, the argument seeming to be over. At least for the time being.

* * *

When they all came home after a few hours, the tense feelings between Sprx and Mandarin still lingered. Antauri tried to settle Mandarin's sour mood with the stress ball he gave him, but he almost threw it at Sprx's head.

Sprx sat in the command centre, playing a videogame to calm his mood. It was just a joke! He wasn't trying to be mean or gross, he wasn't even implying sex between the two! He sighed as he won another level. Maybe he should apologize, his hormones were getting really bad. He heard several people coming up into the room and speak of the devil, Mandarin begrudgingly sat down.

"I swear the heavier this boulder gets the more it's destroying my spine." He huffed, rubbing his back.

"It's a baby, Mandarin."

"Still feels like one!" Mandarin huffed.

Sprx turned to him and got up.

"Um Mandarin-"

Mandarin groaned.

"I just ate, why do I have cravings now?" He whined.

Willow snickered.

"You want me to go out again?" She asked.

A lightbulb went off in Sprx's head.

"No wait! I'll get it!" He quickly said.

The others looked at him quizzically.

"You sure Sprx?" Nova asked.

Sprx nodded and turned to Mandarin.

"So what do you need?" He asked.

Mandarin blinked.

"Actually what I want is cheddar chips and strawberries." He said.

Sprx nodded and ran to his tube.

"Don't forget the vanilla yogurt!" Mandarin called out.

Sprx nodded, rushing out the door.

* * *

Sprx carried in two bags of what Mandarin wanted.  
They were still sitting in the same places when he left, minus Chiro playing video games now.  
He set down the bags next to Mandarin.

"I got your stuff." Sprx chirped proudly.

Mandarin looked down and his face crumpled a bit. Sprx's smile dropped.

"What?"

"Oh...um sorry Sprx but I'm no longer hungry for those." Mandarin said flatly, leaving Sprx frozen.

Mandarin looked at Antauri while Sprx stood there.

"Have you taken my water bottle by any chance? I've been looking for that the past few days." He huffed.

Antauri shook his head.

"No Mandarin I haven't. I don't need your water bottle."

Mandarin turned to Trent, eyes like daggers. Trent held up his hands.

"Don't look at me!"

"Then who took it?! I need it because the child demands it twenty four seven!" Mandarin snapped.

"You don't need to yell, I'm sure it's in the base somewhere." Nova sighed.

"Excuse me for being concerned about my possessions!"  
 _  
Crack._

"I get that Mandarin, but you need to calm down." She said.

"I'll calm down when I have my water bottle in my hand!"  
 _  
Crack._

"Stress isn't good for Lazuli, so please calm down." Gibson advised.

Mandarin huffed and sat back, still steaming.

He looked at Sprx and scoffed.

"I bet you took it just to mess with me." He growled.

That was it, Sprx had enough of the accusations and the mood swings. He was about to let Mandarin have it when Otto looked up.

"Actually I think I saw something that looks like your water bottle under the bed when I surprised you the other day." He chirped.

Mandarin's face then softened.

"Seriously?" He asked and Otto nodded.

He placed his face in his hands after a minute in silence.

"This pregnancy is destroying my brain." He groaned.

Otto giggled and patted his knee.

"Don't worry about it, three months left to go." He chirped.

Mandarin sighed before thinking.

"Erm Sprx about earlier-" He began turning to Sprx, when everyone noticed his expression.

Steam was coming out of his ears and his face was all scrunched up in an angry frown.

"Um Sprx? You ok?" Chiro asked.

Sprx licked his dry lips and nodded.

"Wonderful." He spoke.

Mandarin raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure? Because if you look like you're about to erupt." He said.

Sprx slowly turned his head towards him.

"You know what? You're right! You wanna know why?!" He began, tired of the events that happened today.

Nova, immediately knowing why he's so mad, quickly got up.

"Sprx don't!"

"Don't what!? Don't express how sick I am of the constant mood swings of Mr. Flip flopper over there?!" He motioned towards Mandarin.

Mandarin crossed his arms and frowned.

"Don't compare me to ugly footwear Sprx-77." He huffed.

Sprx whipped around, murder in his eyes.

"Are you actually being serious right now?!"

The others flinched at his tone. Mandarin glared at him.

"Now the tears and forgetfulness I can handle, but I am just sick of the constant anger over nothing and accusations of crap we didn't do!" Sprx ranted.

"Sprx, don't say or do anything you're going to regret later." Antauri strictly advised.

"Yeah Sprx, listen to him." Mandarin growled, anger bubbling in his chest.

Sprx clenched his fists as Mandarin continued.

"Now I get that this day hasn't been favorable to you Sprx, but it was just as insufferable as it was for me." He huffed.

Sprx crossed his arms.

"Oh really now?"

"Yes Sprx, remember having these mood swings is just as terrible for me too. So don't think you're the only one in the world suffering because my cravings decided to switch and you already bought what I wanted." Mandarin huffed.

"Again I ask, are you being serious right now?! Try being on the receiving end of your temper tantrums!"

"I do not have temper tantrums!"

"Then what the hell happened to that table today?! What do you call that?!"

Mandarin opened his mouth to speak but he paused.

Gibson tried to get Sprx away, but he pushed him away.

"We avoid your mood swings, you get upset. We try to help your mood swings, you still get upset. I am sick of you acting like an demanding asshole all the time!" Sprx yelled.

Mandarin flinched and snarled.

"Oh I'm acting up? What about your behavior because you're acting childish and selfish right now!"

"Oh I'm being selfish now?! I'm selfish?!"

Otto flinched.

"This isn't looking so good." He muttered.

Amanda inhaled sharply through her teeth.

"It's not like we didn't see this coming, I mean you saw them at the picnic earlier." She pointed out.

Jinmay nodded.

"Guys we still should-" she began but the two were arguing even more furiously.

"Explain the tables jerk! Explain all of the tables you've broken!" Sprx snapped.

"Otto always fixes them!"

"And he shouldn't have to! You should control your damn temper!"

"You try carrying a Tabithian infant for nearly a year and you try to control your hormones!" Mandarin yelled.

"I wouldn't dream of it! I wouldn't even go so far as to just do it for someone's dead-" but Sprx stopped himself and just let out a loud yell, placing his head on the bubble chair across from Mandarin.

Mandarin clearly knew what he meant and looked down, a mix of emotions clear on his face. The whole room fell into silence.

Just then one of the tubes made a noise and Tilamat happily strolled into the room.

"Guess who's patient just finally had her baby and now he can come over whenever?!" He announced happily before noticing the tense situation.

Sprx leaned against the bubble chair, arms crossed while Mandarin stared at the floor. Tilamat looked around.

"I...came at a bad time didn't I?" He asked.

* * *

The whole argument between the two was explained, after Sprx stormed out a minute after he arrived.

Tilamat was hunched over, his hands on his cheeks.

"Jeez I knew the mood swings would get worse but...I never thought they'd end up like this." He said, looking over at Mandarin.

Mandarin was off to the side, not really looking at anyone.

Chiro looked at Tilamat worried.

"What should we do now? I mean we tried to help him whenever he gets like this but if it causes Sprx to snap like he did..."

Tilamat crossed his arms.

"I think it's more of an issue between Sprx and Mandarin than it is with his mood swings." He stated.

Mandarin looked over at him.

"What do you mean?" Willow asked.

Trent looked at Antauri.

"Did Mandarin and Sprx ever had that good of a friendship before?" He asked.

Antauri closed his eyes and shook his head.

"No...I don't think they have. They were fine before he turned against us...after that it was never the same." He sighed.

Mandarin looked down, that was true.

"When he came back to us their relationship improved somewhat, but they still continue to fight at times." Antauri said.

Tilamat nodded.

"Well I think for the sake of the baby, either those two learn to get along better or avoid each other until the pregnancy is over." He suggested.

Mandarin looked up again as the others went, "What?"

Tilamat sighed and sat back against the chair. He looked over to Mandarin.

"It's clearly stressing you two out, and the less stress the better."

Mandarin couldn't help but silently agree. Chiro thought for a moment.'

"So what do we do now?" Willow asked.

"We need to get Sprx back up here and fix things between them, then we'll figure it out from there." Antauri said.

Everyone agreed as Nova went to search for him. However when she came back she looked worried.

"Sprx isn't in the robot!" She said.

Everyone turned to her.

"What do you mean he isn't in the robot?" Amanda asked.

"I checked his room, the kitchen, the underground base, I even checked my room but I can't find him!" Nova exclaimed, clearly worried.

Antauri stood up.

"We need to find him immediately. Mandarin stays here." He said and everyone nodded.

"I am not-!"

Everyone quickly left the robot, minus Mandarin and Tilamat. Mandarin sighed irritatedly.

"You're going to find him too aren't you?" Tilamat asked.

Mandarin turned and went to the large transport tube, Tilamat following him. After the argument the two had, Mandarin had to have them fix it.

"That is without question."

* * *

I've read only small amounts of fics where the pregnant person and another person get into this really heated argument because of mood swings and that can be great conflict! But eh my philosophy is write what you want to see, what others aren't doing that you can try. That sort of thing. Anywho thanks for reading!


	32. Chapter 32

Here we continue the whole mood swing debacle! Hopefully these two nerds will make up. Please enjoy!

* * *

The two searched through the city streets, getting confused stares from the citizens. The sky was a dark blue with the city lights chasing away the stars. Tilamat felt breathless in a city like this, it wasn't as advanced as Tabithia or their controlled planets but the beauty of the city still captivated him. He quickly shook that off as he almost walked into Mandarin.

"Where could he have gone?" Tilamat asked, looking into an alleyway.

Mandarin sighed.

"That's a good question because most of the old places he would go to are gone by now." He said.

Tilamat walked up next to him.

"Are there any new places we might find him at?"

Mandarin placed a finger under his chin.

"We should probably check the places we usually go to first before anything." He said.

Tilamat nodded as the two continued their search, not noticing the clear sky began to become covered with clouds.

They checked the museum, the park, the arcade, and even at the pier. Mandarin sighed, where did he go?

"Okay so...where else can we check?" Tilamat asked.

Mandarin thought on it when he felt a drop of water hit his snout. He shivered and looked up. The clouds were now dark and heavy with moisture as it began to rain.  
Tilamat groaned loudly.

"Are you serious?!" He whined as Mandarin placed a hand over him.

"Let's just hope the others found him because I am not going to search for Sprx in the rain." Mandarin huffed as the two searched for shelter.

The two looked around frantically, hoping that there would be something still open. They then came across a large burger like structure with several tables. Mandarin tried to look around for other forms of shelter but most of the places either seemed too small or closed.

"Hey!" A voice called out to the two.

Tilamat and Mandarin turned to see Mr. Gackslapper poking his head out.

"You should come in! It's raining cats and dogs out here!" He called out.

Tilamat and Mandarin looked at each other before rushing over and going inside, Mandarin having a bit more difficult time height wise.

The door closed and Tilamat shivered before Mr. Gackalapper handed him and Mandarin towels.

"Thank you." Tilamat said.

Mandarin wiped his face a bit before looking around.

"I'm surprised that you're even in out in this weather, it's not like the robot is leaking is it?" He asked Mandarin.

Mandarin sighed.

"No thank goodness."

Tilamat was confused by the interaction between the two, shouldn't this human be crapping himself because of Mandarin? tilted his head.

"Then what are you doing out? You hungry? Because I still got some hover burgers left to-" he began as he went over to his grill before Mandarin held up a hand.

"Oh no you don't have to do that. We don't want to impose." He said.

Mr. Gackslapper waved a hand.

"No it's fine, business today was slow anyway." He said, beginning to cook from inside the restaurant.

Tilamat watched with peeked inquiry while Mandarin sat down, feeling a bit guilty. He raised an eyebrow at Tilamat's behavior, unsure why he was staring so much. Then a light bulb went off.

"You've never tried human food have you?" He asked.

"Nope, never." Tilamat said flatly, watching intently.

Mandarin snickered as he continued to watch. Mr. Gackslapper make three plates and handed two of them to Mandarin and Tilamat.

Tilamat picked the burger up and examined it.

"So uh you're a Tabithian aren't you?" Mr. Gackslapper asked.

Tilamat looked up and nodded as the man placed a burger on the third plate.

"Huh, for some reason I thought you'd look like a tree person or something." He said.

Tilamat snickered.

"No those are Truithians, though I can see why you'd mix those up." He said before placing his attention back on the burger.

"Oh sorry."

"No don't worry about it."

Mandarin blinked.

"You can eat it you know." He reminded him.

Tilamat only nodded a bit before slowly taking a bite. He paused, then quickly began to devour the whole burger. Mandarin couldn't help but laugh at the sight while Mr. Gackslapper's eyes widened.

"Woah slow down!" He exclaimed worried.

Tilamat finished the burger minutes later and looked around.

"What that's it?!" He asked, causing Mandarin to laugh harder.

Mr. Gackslapper looked over at Mandarin worriedly.

"He's never really tried human food before?" He asked.

Mandarin could only shake his head, having the giggles now.

Tilamat licked his fingers and sighed remorsefully, that was too good and now it was gone.

"We don't have food this good back home. I mean it's good, but the closest thing we have to these 'burgers' is the big Zlorg worm." He sighed.

Mandarin turned to him, disgusted.

"It's a specialty back home."

Mandarin rolled his eyes, he didn't even want to know.

Mr. Gackslapper smiled and held up the third plate.

"Well I'm glad you like it, I'll make you another plate after I get this to him." He said before going to the other side of the restaurant.

Tilamat cheered while Mandarin paid attention to where the cook was going. He turned to what seemed to be a closet and opened it.

"Here, I made some burgers and thought you'd like one."

"Thanks, I could really use one." A voice said.

Mandarin perked his head up.

"Sprx?!"

Sprx poked his head out and his eyes widened.

"Mandarin!"

Everyone stood there in silence while Tilamat looked at them worriedly. He then got up and began to lead Mr. Gackslapper away.

"Wait what's going on?" He asked.

"Uhhh something that these two need to work out." Tilamat coughed before the two went into the storage room.

Sprx and Mandarin didn't speak at first, the rain outside being the only sound present. Sprx rubbed his arm and awkwardly looked off to the side.

"You...you know I didn't mean what I said-"

"I know you didn't..." Mandarin sighed, knowing that even though he didn't mean it, it still hurts.

Sprx took a chair and sat down a foot away from him.

"I'm serious, I was being stupid as usual." He explained.

"I don't think you're stupid!" Mandarin denied.

Sprx jumped a bit but smiled a bit.

"Thanks, I was just so sick of the mood swings." He explained.

Mandarin tilted his head.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

Not the accusations again!

"Mandarin-"

"No that came out wrong, what I meant is I feel there's an underlying issue between our constant hostility." He explained, reviving a confused look from Sprx.

"Huh?"

Mandarin sighed.

"What I'm trying to get at is that we've always had a tense relationship in the past. When I came back it seemed to get better, but fights like what happened earlier really makes me worried." He explained.

Sprx's back straightened a bit. That was true, it wasn't like how it was when he was leader but when he came back there were still some tense feelings still lingering.

Mandarin set down his meal and looked at Sprx dead in the face.

"So be honest, do you still harbor ill feelings towards me for betraying you?" He asked.

Sprx flinched.

"I'm not accusing you, I'm just asking." Mandarin added.

Sprx glanced off to the side.

"Believe me it's not as bad as it used to be." He admitted, causing Mandarin to nod.

"I mean after you left, I hated your guts. When you came back the first time to take over Shuggazoom, that made it worse. Then when you came back the second time and you were reformed...I don't know." Sprx sighed.

Mandarin was silent, letting him continue.

"I mean I don't hate you or anything, I just...I don't know." Sprx sighed.

"You still have the after effects of what happened. That is more than understandable." He said.

Sprx bit his lip.

"You said a while ago when I was feeling guilty about what happened with the Alchemist was that you understood how I felt. I never did know your reasoning behind that." Mandarin pointed out.

Sprx looked up, he never did tell him about the Fire of Hate incident. He cleared his throat a bit.

"Oh that, well a year ago before the war happened, Valina and your clone tried to find all these pieces to resurrect Skeleton King." He began, Mandarin listening intently.

"We tried to stop them when they got the Ice crystal of vengeance but...that didn't go well and when we tried to stop them getting the Fire of Hate, we were close but..." His voice trailed off before continuing.

"I grabbed it and its hate consumed me, corrupting me." He said, finding it hard to speak.

Mandarin was about to stop him but Sprx held up a hand.

"No I got this, anyway I gave the Fire of Hate to Valina and your clone and joined them to resurrect Skeleton King. I helped them bring back one of our biggest enemies and I basically helped cause a war." Sprx sighed.

Mandarin shook his head slightly, knowing that wasn't true.

"But the team helped me realize that it wasn't my fault, that the Fire of Hate made me hurt everyone and helped resurrect Skeleton King. It took a while but I did eventually forgive myself." Sprx said.

Sprx picked up his plate and began to eat the burger.

"So I guess what I'm trying to say is that I understand you a bit more now." He said in between bites.

Mandarin smiled a bit, feeling the same way.

"Again I'm sorry about yelling at you earlier." Sprx said.

"No my mood swings were stressing you out so I should be the one apologizing."

"Mandarin you can't even control them so don't even go there."

The two then heard the storage room door open and Tilamat and Mr. Gackslapper peek their heads out.

"Is it safe to come out now?" Mr. Gackslapper asked.

Mandarin nodded.

"Yes of course." He said as the two left the storage room.

"Should I know what's going on, because I don't want to impose or-"

Mandarin waved a hand.

"Oh no it's fine, Sprx and I had a fight earlier but it settled down." He explained.

Mr. Gackslapper nodded, understanding.

"Until I yell at you again from stress." Sprx muttered.

Mandarin smirked at him.

"Oh the others would rip into you next time you yell at a pregnant person." He snickered.

"They probably will!" Sprx agreed.

Tilamat sighed, at least the two will get along somewhat better now.

The rain the four heard stopped and Mr. Gackslapper looked outside.

"Well what do you know? It stopped!"

The others went outside, the rain did stop and the sky was beginning to clear up.

"Wow! Me and Mandarin made up and the rain stopped!" Sprx said, laughing a bit.

"It's emotional timing." Mandarin snickered

Tilamat sighed, happy that they're finally getting along.

"Sprx!"

The four turned to the others running towards them, some of them looking quite peeved at Sprx. Mandarin stepped in front of him just in case the others will kill him.

"Thank goodness you are ok!" Gibson sighed.

"You have a lot to apologize for Sprx!" Nova huffed.

Mandarin sighed.

"Don't bother, he's already apologized." He said.

"He still yelled at you." Willow pointed out.

"And I yelled at him, we're even." Mandarin shrugged.

Chiro sighed, at least happy they weren't at each other's throats anymore. He turned to Mr. Gackslapper with an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry about all this."

"Don't worry about it Chiro, besides shelter was the least I could do for them." He said.

Chiro smiled, that's good. He turned to Tilamat, who came out with Mandarin and Sprx's burgers in his mouth.

"And uh thank you for your help too. How long are you going to be staying here?" He asked.

Tilamat gulped down the hamburger.

"Until Mandarin has the baby, I'm going to be going to the Ranger 7 prison to try to get volunteers so the prisoners can boost their emotional states." He said.

"Their emotional states?"

"I don't know something the prison ward thought up of." Tilamat sighed before continuing the eat the burgers.

"If Sakko gets pregnant I swear to Veran-!" Mandarin laughed.

"He'd be too tiny anyway!" Jinmay laughed.

Chiro snickered before looking to the others.

"Alright team, let's go home." He announced and everyone agreed.

Sprx looked back at Mr. Gackslapper, who was closing up.

"Thanks again for the shelter!" He said.

"No problem!"

He walked up to Mandarin. Willow smiled and leaned over to Antauri.

"Well at least that's out of the way. Wonder what made the two make up?"

Antauri chuckled.

"We could only wonder, but at least hopefully they'll fight less-"

"Excuse me Mr. Moody I didn't except to give you royalty treatment!"

"When you decide to carry a child for eleven months, you gain the right for everyone to treat you like that!" Mandarin snapped.

Chiro sighed, not again. However their interaction was different than before. It seemed a bit friendlier than before and Sprx snickered and playfully slapped Mandarin's leg.

"You ass." He scoffed.

"Hey maybe we should let you have a go at this. There are pregnancy simulators out there that can have you have all the same symptoms." Mandarin chirped.

"Uh right now is a terrible time! We have evil breathing down our necks!"

Mandarin rolled his eyes.

"Fine scaredy cat."

"I'm not a scaredy cat!" Sprx defended.

Everyone sighed in relief, thank goodness.

* * *

Yaay they made up! Now Mr. Gackslapper was awkward for me to write since it was my first time writing him so hopefully I did okay...hopefully. Thanks for reading!


	33. Chapter 33

Alright! I don't know how many other chapters there will be left but I do know that the story is on it's way to being done! Slowly that is but I am working on the next fic and I will soon work on the sequel to this one. Please enjoy!

* * *

For the next two and a half months, Trent kept practicing for the auditions with Brittany and he was improving very well. Trent fell on his butt after practice was over and sighed heavily.

Brittany smiled and patted his shoulder.

"I think it's safe to say you're ready for the auditions." She said.

Trent looked up, eyes wide.

"Really?!"

Brittany nodded and handed him a water.

"Yep, the only thing we need to really worry about is your identification. I mean they'll recognize you but they'll need proof that you're half sueronian and not a human with powers." She said.

Trent blinked.

"And how are we gonna do that?" He asked.

Brittany placed a hand on her chin.

"Well Sueronians females have jewels that they can use for jewelry, but male Sueronians need stones and I think is silly but the council is a bit sexist. Do you have anything like that?" She asked.

Trent burrowed his brow until his eyes widened. He pulled out a round green stone.

"Something like this?" He asked.

Brittany's eyes widened in surprise.

"Where did that come from?" She asked.

Trent looked down at it.

"Before my parents divorced and my mom married my awful step dad, my dad gave me this before he went exploring the Galaxy. He never said why I needed it but...I kind of get it now." He said.

Brittany smiled at his past, spoken like a true Sueronian.

"Well I think we should place it somewhere, just so it won't get lost." She said.

Trent nodded.

"Okay, and how are we gonna do that?" He asked for the second time.

Brittany thought on it.

"We could use an armored arm band to hold it...but how are we gonna get that?" She said.

The two thought on this for a while before the two thought of one person.

* * *

"You want me to do what?" Willow asked as Antauri sipped tea.

"Can't you do a spell thing to make a armored arm band for Trent to hold this in?" Brittany asked, holding up the green stone.

Antauri leaned forward, examining the stone.

"What is that?" He asked.

Brittany turned to him.

"It's a stone male Sueronians use instead of jewels." She explained.

Antauri nodded, no doubt intrigued.

Willow blinked.

"Uh I think I can, hold on." She said getting her magic book out.

She flipped through the pages until her eyes caught on a specific spell.

"Ah! Here we go!" She said before clearing her throat.

The spell she cast was spoken in a mix of Latin and some other language that Trent or Brittany never heard of before. They then noticed a bright light above them and a cylinder was forming inside. The light disappeared and Trent caught what seemed to be a golden yellow metal arm band. It had a round dent that was similar to the stone he had.

Willow sighed and rubbed her brow, that took a lot out of her.

"Well go ahead, put it in." She said smiling.

Trent looked at the stone and then at the armband. The stone his dad gave him, would he approve of him wanting to join Starlights? He didn't really talk about them and when he did it wasn't in bad taste, but still the thought lingered. He slowly placed the stone inside the dent and it clamped tightly. He tried to get it out to test it, and it was stuck on there. A small smile grew on his face.

Willow patted his arm.

"So I take it practice went well?" She asked.

Trent nodded.

"He's ready to go, now all we need to do is wait for the final date and place where the concert will take place." Brittany said as she heard the others come up.

"It's done!" They all exclaimed before collapsing.

The four looked at them worriedly.

"Woah! What happened?" Willow asked as she went over to them.

"We're finally done with the underground base!" Amanda wheezed.

"It took us seven months but we finally got it done!" Chiro cheered, wheezing slightly.

Antauri helped Gibson up.

"I take it Mandarin is happy?" He asked.

"If he wasn't on bed rest right now he'd be looking around everywhere." Nova sighed.

Willow smiled, making a note to go down there later.

"Otto's resting with him for now so let's just...let's just rest!" Chiro wheezed.

Everyone agreed to that notion.

Then an alarm went off and Antauri rushed to the control panel.

"The scanners detected an anomaly in the Savage lands!" He announced, causing the others to rush over.

The scanners showed a large formless army being made, with Skelemandarin and Sage looking over the production.

"The army...the army's almost finished!" Nova exclaimed.

Trent trembled a bit at the sight of his evil self.

Gibson tapped a few buttons.

"By my calculations the army will be finished and launched in three days." He stated.

"That's when the auditions start!" Brittany gasped causing everyone to look at each other.

"It's happening..." Amanda muttered.

Willow clenched her fists, growing mad. These bastards really are going through with this. Antauri held her hand, causing her to blush.

"Don't worry Willow, we will be ready for them." He said.

Willow smiled and held his hand tightly. He's right, it's time they finished this.

Everyone was alarmingly silent.

"Willow y-you're holding h-his hand!" Amanda squeaked, causing the two to take their hands back.

Sprx snickered.

"You two really love each other don't you?" He asked, causing the two to glare at him darkly.

"Want to run that by me again?" Willow asked as Sprx backed up.

Before anyone said anything else the screen beeped. The gang turned to someone trying to get into contact with them.

"Who's that?" Nova asked.

Chiro turned to Gibson.

"Gibson answer it." He said as Gibson pressed a button.

A voluptuous woman with long blond hair and pink streaks and purple eyes appeared before them.

"This is the Super Robot command room?" She asked.

Everyone was too shocked to speak until Chiro cleared his throat nervously.

"U-um yes?"

The woman looked around a bit before continuing to speak.

"One of the staff members of Starlights said they know Brittany Diamond's mother. She said this planet is about to experience an attack is it not?" She asked.

Antauri nodded.

"Yes in three days." He said.

The woman cursed under her breath and looked off to the side.

"Mrs. Dementia! They said there is going to be an attack in three days!" She yelled.

The team then saw Marie walk up next to her.

"Thank you Atlantia, I'll take it from here." She said sitting down.

Trent's eyes widened at seeing one of the previous Starlights.

"Sorry about that, anyway what sort of attack are we dealing with here?" She asked.

The others looked at each other.

"They're enemies of ours, they're creating an army of formless to attack the city." Chiro explained.

Marie ran fingers through her straight black and purple hair.

"Oh boy, well that's going to be a problem." She said.

"Why's that?" Willow asked.

Marie was silent before she spoke.

"The audition concert will take place on your planet."

Everyone froze at that announcement.

"On..." Gibson breathed.

"...Shuggazoom." Trent finished.

"We chose this planet because it has a lack of Sueronian contact in this universe, a big introduction to it will help the auditionees use their powers fully. But now that a threat of an attack is coming..." Marie bit on her finger nails before her eyes widened.

"Wait...what if..?" She then smiled.

"Wait! I got it!" She said leaning forward.

"How about we help you fight off the Formless too?" She offered.

Everyone was shocked at her offer, trying to think this through.

"We'll have the auditionees protect the audience from the formless and round them all up. We'll also use the Gary Stus to help too." Marie said.

The others looked at each other. Chiro thought it over.

"It would be very helpful." Antauri muttered.

Chiro sighed and looked up at Marie.

"That would be amazing. We'd love the help."

Marie smiled and nodded.

"That sounds great, we will be planning with you for the next three days. Would that be ok?"

"Of course, again thank you."

The screen turned off and the others sighed in relief.

"Well at least we don't have to worry about which one of us has to be bait." Amanda said, reviving a glare from Brittany.

"Excuse you, me and Trent are participating in the auditions!" She reminded her.

Amanda flinched but nodded.

"Oh right!" She said before thinking.

She looked at Willow nervously.

"Umm...actually I was wondering during the fight...if I could use dads' ship." She asked.

Willow's eyes widened.

"Dad's' ship?!" She asked for clarification.

Amanda nodded.

Willow looked off to the side.

"I don't know Amanda...I don't know what mom would say."

"Would say what?"

Everyone turned to Arwen as she entered the room in her work clothes. Willow jumped a bit at her presence as Amanda fiddled with her fingers.

Arwen went up to the two and looked at them.

"U-um I was asking Willow if during the fight I could use dads' ship." Amanda stuttered.

Arwen's eyes widened before looking away.

"I...I don't know Amanda...no one has used Frier's ship for battle ever since he died..." She said softly.

Amanda stepped foreword.

"I know, but we have a reason to use it! Dad would want us to use his ship against Sage and Mandarin 2, so please-!"

Arwen bit her lip and clenched her fists.

"I know! I know he'd want us to use it but..." Her voice trailed off.

Willow clutched her arm and looked at the ground sadly. Amanda fiddled with her fingers again.

Antauri floated over to the three.

"Arwen, I know how much your husband meant to you and your daughters. I know that his ship is especially important to you, but realize that Amanda is only doing this to help." He said, Arwen then looking at Amanda.

"She knows how much he meant to you too, that's also why she wants to do this. So..."

Arwen walked over to her and placed her hands on her shoulders.

"You will be safe, right?" She asked.

Amanda smiled.

"Of course mom, you know I will."

Arwen sighed and laid her forehead against hers. Her daughter was like her in so many ways when she was younger, and that was the scariest thing to her.

"Alright, just be careful." She whispered as Amanda hugged her.

Willow and the others smiled. Chiro sighed and clapped his hands.

"Alright team! Let's get to work!"

"Right!"

* * *

Mandarin groaned loudly as he laid on his side.

"I want this child out of me." He groaned as he had his hands on his huge stomach.

Otto, exhausted in a bean bag chair, licked his lips.

"Don't worry Mandy, she'll be here in two weeks." He sighed.

"That will take too long!" Mandarin whined.

Otto tried to get up but the weakness in his knees made him nearly fall over.

"Mandy...Mandy..."

He crawled over to the bed and hoisted himself up. Otto snuggled up with Mandarin and nuzzled his neck.

"You know what you need right now?" He panted.

"A c-section?"

Otto smooched him.

"Lots of loving." He said before kissing him.

Mandarin groaned as he kept kissing.

"Otto no."

"Otto yes." Otto said before nuzzling him again.

Mandarin sighed as Otto continued to snuggle him. Mandarin then felt Otto move down to his stomach and began to stroke it.

"Hi Lazuli, Gibson and Tilamat said that you'd be here in two weeks." Otto chirped.

"Otto stop I...I'm too out of it to even complain." Mandarin sighed.

Otto laughed a bit before continuing to stroke his abdomen.

He crawled back up to Mandarin and kissed his cheek.

"I'm genuinely surprised you were able to put up with me and my constant mood swings." Mandarin muttered.

Otto shook his head.

"Nah, it doesn't bother me that much. I mean you get scary when you get mad but I know that's not you talking. Besides you're cute when you cry." Otto chirped.

Mandarin grumbled, making Otto giggle.

"You're cute when you're like this, all sensitive and soft."

"Soft?! That's pregnancy weight Otto!" Mandarin huffed.

Otto patted his cheek.

"Still might be there after Lazuli's born, I mean not that I have a problem with it."

"It goes away after a week Otto. Tabithian pregnancies have the body go back to normal quickly."

Otto pouted.

"Phooey, I was looking forward to pudgy Mandarin." Otto huffed.

Mandarin snickered and hid his face.

"Otto that's really weird!"

"It'd be cute and you know it!"

Before the two could continue their moment, the lights came on and Mandarin groaned loudly, covering his face with the pillow.

"I had the lights off for a reason!" He yelled as Otto sat up.

Willow and Chiro winced at his reaction.

"S-sorry, Otto we'll need you upstairs!" Chiro said.

Mandarin struggled to sit up as Otto blinked.

"Why? What happened?" He asked.

"Mandarin 2 and Sage are building their army, so we're gonna have to be prepared." Willow explained.

Mandarin sighed and placed a hand on his face.

"That little fake doesn't know when to quit does he?" He sighed.

"Gee, wonder where he gets that from?" Chiro asked sarcastically.

Mandarin frowned.

"Chiro I feel like I'm about to burst, sarcasm isn't needed right now." He huffed.

"Right, sorry."

Otto nodded and hopped up.

"So what do I need to do chief?" He asked, a determined smile on his face.

Chiro smiled.

"You and Gibson will charge the weapons up for our backups to use on the Formless. They're gonna need it."

"Backups?" Otto and Mandarin asked.

"We'll explain that later, come on Otto." Chiro said.

Otto nodded and turned to Mandarin.

"I'll be back later, cutie face." He chirped.

Mandarin smiled a bit.

"Alright."

Otto kissed him.

"Love you." He chirped before leaving the room.

Mandarin blinked quickly, realizing that's the first time he said that. He smiled warmly before he heard a loud thump outside.

"I can't believe I said that so quickly!" Otto's voice wheezed.

The others snickered as Chiro began to leave.

"Otto it's been a few months, it's not too quick." Mandarin reminded him.

He heard Otto wheeze and snickered.  
Willow looked at Chiro as he left.

"I'll be up in a few." She said.

Chiro nodded and left, taking Otto with him. Willow sat next to the bed, clearly something on her mind.

Mandarin frowned a bit.

"Aren't you going with them?" He asked.

Willow looked back at him.

"In a bit, right now I need to just think." She sighed.

Mandarin nodded slightly before laying down a bit.

"This is really happening, this all might be over." She breathed.

"I still never got to really fight him." Mandarin grumbled.

Willow turned to him.

"I know, maybe when and if we spare him you'll get to hit him a few times." Willow chirped.

Mandarin sighed, still disappointed.

"You'll never know, they still might get away again."

Willow straightened her back.

"That won't happen! I won't let Sage or that fake ass escape again that easily!" She said, hitting the bed with her fist.

Mandarin leaned back a bit, trying to get in a more comfortable position.

"I'm saying this as a way for you to be prepared in case that happens." He pointed out to her.

Willow sighed and dipped her head.

"I know, but I just want this to be over. For once I just want to not worry about him anymore." She sighed.

Mandarin scooted over.

"You will sooner or later. Someday he won't be a threat to you and Sage will return to Trent, where he belongs." He said.

Willow looked at him and smiled a bit.

"Yeah, hopefully. This still could be it, our last fight with him."

Mandarin nodded slightly. Willow then felt concerned as a thought entered her head.

"Wait, are you going to be okay? I mean what if something happens to you while we fight him? What if you go into labor during all of this?" She asked, worried.

Mandarin raised an eyebrow.

"Tilamat has sentries all around the city and there are a lot of defenses set up just in case, I doubt anyone is going to get in here. Also as much as I want to go into labor right now-"

"No you don't."

"The child won't be born until the 15th, as insufferable as that sounds."

"Mandarin trust me. Labor. Much more insufferable. My mom can vouch for that." Willow said.

Mandarin sighed, ignoring her.

"Even if that does happen, Tilamat can handle it. I'll just call him and he'll be right here, so I'm not that worried." He explained.

Willow bit her lip.

"Will you be okay? Being by yourself?"

"Please, I'll be fine. Solitude and I are old friends."

Willow smiled sadly, he doesn't have to be alone anymore but she knew he'll be okay. She tilted her head a bit.

"Sounds a lot like me when I was younger, I always threw myself into self pity though."

"That was before you met everyone and came here though, so you kind of didn't know. That and you had no self awareness of your own sueishness." Mandarin said.

Willow snickered.

"Is that what you're calling it?"

Mandarin shrugged before pausing.

"You know, I hate to say it but I've gotten used to your nonsense."

"Huh?"

Mandarin looked up at the ceiling.

"The first few weeks I was forced to be here, I found your Sueronian traits annoying and suspicious. I was so confused about why everyone liked you so much and why you had all of these confusing powers and a really tragic backstory-"

"Mandy that ain't even half of my tragic backstory." Willow admitted.

Mandarin looked at her confused. Willow raised a hand.

"I'll tell you about the other stuff too someday, sorry. Keep going."

Mandarin blinked. Ooh boy, more backstory.

"Anyway even though I still get confused and annoyed, I at least know why. Sueronians are meant to be perfect wish fulfillment beings, made with tragic backstories, many powers and friends, and a big love interest." He continued, causing Willow to blush.

"Y-Yyeah." She grumbled.

Mandarin lifted himself up a bit.

"So really it makes sense to me now. I mean I'm not sold on it, but I've gotten used to it in a way." He said.

Willow felt surprised by what he said, but at the same time pleased.

"I could say the same about you but, you know." She said.

"Oh trust me I would understand that." Mandarin scoffed.

Willow snickered.

"Yeah...but you know what? I'm glad things turned out the way they did, I could almost thank your dumb clone." She said.

"Same. Please do make him suffer for me." Mandarin sighed.

Willow stood up, smirking.

"Oh I will! Trust me after calling Lazuli a 'bastard child' I will make him pay!" She huffed.

"Please do! He deserves it so much!"

Willow snickered, feeling twice as confident as before.

She never felt so ready as she did now to fight against Skelemandarin and Sage for the last time.

* * *

Willow and Mandarin's relationship gives me life. Anywho thanks for reading!


	34. Chapter 34

Hi and welcome to another chapter! This time we have more things happening that will lead up to the final big battle! Please enjoy!

* * *

Diamanda sat in her cold cell, too weak to get up. She saw a shadow and looked up at Sage and Skelemandarin.

"What do you want now? You sex starved or something?" She growled.

Sage and Skelemandarin were disturbed by her question. They looked at each other.

"N-no."

"Why would we do that?" Skelemandarin asked.

Diamanda shrugged.

"I dunno, usually captors would try to get with their prisoners in these types of stories...what stories have I been reading?!" She asked herself, now fully getting what she asked was bullshit.

Sage shook his head.

"Anyway, you'll be happy to know that our army is almost ready to go. With them and this," Sage touched Diamanda's choker.

"we will destroy the Hyperforce and that pesky Willow." He sneered.

Diamanda growled and tried to stand up but fell to her knees. She looked up at them with hate in her eyes.

"You know you're just going to lose. It's clear as day." She growled.

Sage leaned down to her.

"Oh really now? Now that I have your choker and my own personal Sueronian stone, nothing is going to stop us." He snickered, holding out a purple stone.

Diamanda tried to grab for it, but Sage quickly took it back.

Skelemandarin sighed, truly pleased.

"I will finally win this war and destroy my brothers, those girls, and their precious leader!" He cackled.

Diamanda raised an eyebrow.

"What about your original counterpart? When he has his baby he will come and kill you." She pointed out.

Skelemandarin smirked.

"Oh I have plans for him and his bastard child. The child's DNA would be very beneficial to us."

Diamanda shivered by the tone of his voice.

Skelemandarin looked up at Sage.

"Let's go Sage, we have a lot of work to be done."

"Of course, enjoy rotting here Dia dear!" Sage chirped before the two left.

Diamanda growled but hung her head.

" _Willow...Hyperdorks...kick their asses. I could but without my choker I'm powerless._ " She thought, trying to morph a ball of fire.

However as she tried before, nothing came of it.

* * *

From that day, everyone was preparing for this final fight. Both the Sueronians and the Hyperforce were collaborating for the day when the formless army will arrive. Anxiety and determination flowed through everyone as they prepared for that day. It was the same for their enemies too, as they created the Formless army and Sage fully got ahold of Diamanda's choker.

The dawn of the third day came, the sky was painted with blues, pinks, oranges, and purples as the sun rose. Chiro, Gibson, Arwen, Trent, Brittany, and Nova were waiting for the Sueronian ship to arrive. They were near the Pit of Doom and just the aura of the place sent shivers down their spines. Old dark green crystals laid in ruins as the castle of the fallen Skeleton King laid in ruins.

"You sure this is the rendezvous point? The Pit of Doom of all places?" Nova questioned.

"Marie said that this place would be good to hide their ship until the concert starts. Not my choice but..." Arwen shivered as she clutched her arms.

"It's better than nothing."

Trent twiddled his fingers nervously, knowing he would meet the other competitors when they landed. Brittany patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." She assured him.

Trent sighed, feeling a bit better.

"Besides they smell fear anyway."

Trent's muscles tightened at that and he gulped.

Suddenly they heard a loud noise as the looked up to see a huge ship land just several feet away. The others backed up a bit, coughing at the dust the ship gave off. The door to it opened and many girls darted off the platform and surrounded the guys, minus Trent.

"Omg are you Chiro?! You're so hot!" One Sueronian chirped.

"My name is Sueanna Robella-!" Another Sueronian cooed to Gibson, causing Brittany to growl for some reason.

"No my name is much cuter!"

"My dad once tried to sell me to strange men as a prostitute, but then I found out I was a princess! Isn't that cool?!"

"No I'm a goddess with the burden of being immortal! That's better than you, princess bitch!"

The guys' were in a hurricane of emotion at so many Sueronian auras at once. Suddenly a loud whistle made the girls froze. Marie, along with a female Sueronian with purple and pink hair, and a male Sueronian with red hair and spectacles stepped out.

"Ladies! Those are the Hyperforce members! They are not target practice!" Marie said sternly.

The girls looked at each other before realizing. They then went back inside, muttering a few 'sorrys' to the team as they went.

Marie turned to a Sueronian with long red hair and black clothes, who was looking over the group.

"You too Yui." She sighed.

Yui jumped a bit before turning. Along with her long red hair, she had red eyes and a curvy strong body. She also had a small beauty mark on her cheek and ruby red lips.

"B-but I have as much of a right-!" She began before the other red haired Sueronian clapped his hands.

"You need to practice for tonight, not only on your routine but your character." He said.

Yui glared as she went inside.

Marie turned to Arwen and walked up to her. The two hugged briefly before the other Sueronians went up next to her.

"Sorry about that, they haven't gotten the hang of using their stories and characters yet." Marie said.

Arwen laughed.

"Oh please Marie we were the same way when we were their age!" She said, playfully smacking her shoulder.

Marie shrugged.

"Eh true enough, anyway it's great to finally meet you all in person. We've already met but these are a few staff members. This is Kala Victoria and Niro Blaze." She said, motioning to the other Sueronians.

Chiro scratched his chin.

"Uh it's nice to meet you." He said.

Niro nodded.

"Same to you, you and your team are quite famous in some areas back home." He said.

The others looked at each other.

"We are?" Nova asked.

Niro crossed his arms.

"Of course you are, many of our scouts travel in many alternate universes just to interact with you. Why not here I'll never know." He sighed.

The others looked at each other again, surprised.

"Uh by interact what do you mean?" Gibson asked.

Marie turned to him.

"The scouts that go to your world use their wish fulfillment to hang out with you basically and have all sorts of adventures...changing a lot of things in the process though." She explained.

They didn't even want to know what was being changed.

Kala waved a bit before going over to Brittany and Trent. She pulled out a clipboard and looked over the names.

"Brittany Lobel Sapphire Sophia Rainbow Diamond?" She asked.

Brittany stepped forward.

"Yes ma'am." She said.

Kala looked at Trent.

"I'm guessing you are Trent Havier Loren?" She asked.

Trent briefly nodded.

"Erm yeah." He said.

Kala smiled.

"I knew it! I was just making sure!" She chirped before checking him off.

Niro side glanced Trent coldly.

"You're the male half Sueronian?" He asked.

Trent nodded. Niro looked ahead.

"Good luck." He uttered, though his tone implied otherwise.

Marie glared at him as Arwen clenched her fists, the others growing pissed as well. Just what was that supposed to mean?!

"Niro, we talked about this." She whispered.

Niro looked at her harshly.

"I'm being honest. There's a ton of girls that will no doubt have a lot more attention and better chances than he does." He stated.

Trent looked down.

"If he even has a shot at being chosen, he has to work pretty damn hard."

Trent then looked up at him.

"Okay."

Everyone paused.

"What?"

Trent looked around.

"Sounds hard but I think I'll do okay." He said shrugging.

Niro blinked rapidly.

"D-Don't take it so easily-!"

Marie stepped in front of him.

"Don't mind him, if you and Brittany are set you may go in and practice for tonight." She said.

The two looked at each other and nodded. They went over to the team first before they went inside.

"So...I guess this is it." Brittany breathed.

Chiro nodded.

"Yep, don't worry we'll get them." He said, assuring them.

Gibson looked up at Chiro.

"We still need to go over several tactics before tonight comes." He said.

Chiro nodded and looked over at Marie.

"We'll call you to go over the plan!" He called out to her.

"Sounds good to me!"

Trent nodded, feeling incredibly nervous.

"Well good luck then." He said, smiling a bit.

Nova nodded.

"Good luck to you too." She said.

"Come on you two, you need to be registered." Marie called out as Kala and Niro went inside.

Chiro looked at Trent.

"Did you say good bye to Willow?" He asked.

Trent smiled.

"Of course I did, she wouldn't let me live it down otherwise." He said, chuckling a bit.

"Heh that's true." Arwen sighed.

Antauri smiled, thinking of her.

"Well see you." Brittany said as the two left for the ship.

"See you!" Most of the others called.

Antauri waved as the two entered the ship and the doors closed. He stopped waving and looked down a bit.

"Willow..."

* * *

Willow sat in her room, fondling her necklace.

"Dad...you gave me this to protect other planets, to protect others..." She said to herself.

She remembered when her father gave her his necklace.

 _"Glory, happy birthday." A handsome man with black hair said, holding out a small gift box._

 _A toddler version of Willow grabbed it and quickly ripped the box opened, excited. However she then was confused as she held up a necklace with a large red jewel and a black metal holding it._

 _"What's 'is?" Willow asked._

 _Her dad then kneeled down to her._

 _"That is a very special necklace Willow. I want you to have it." He said._

 _Willow tilted her head and burrowed her eyebrows._

 _"Why?"_

 _Arwen looked at her husband, wondering what he'll answer. Frier smiled and stroked her hair._

 _"You're very special Willow and someday you are going to help so many people on many planets other than Natulis. This necklace will be very important." He said, putting the necklace around her neck._

 _It looked a little big on her._

 _Arwen snickered loudly as Willow frowned._

 _"Uh don't worry, you'll grow into it." Frier said nervously._

Willow closed her eyes and touched the necklace. The door suddenly opened, causing her to jump a bit. Antauri flinched.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He said.

Willow laughed a bit.

"No you're fine, I'm a bit on edge today." She said as Antauri sat on her bed.

The two didn't speak for a while, the anxiety between the two growing.

"You think we'll win?" Willow asked softly.

Antauri closed his eyes.

"I am certain we will be victorious this time, though I too understand everyone's fears." He said.

Willow looked at him then back at the ceiling.

"I just want to live in peace for once, just once! Is that so wrong?"

Antauri looked at her and moved closer to her.

"Of course it isn't. Wanting peace is something many of us feel, though it does not come easy."

Willow stared at him, feeling mixed feelings of sadness, fear, and love.

"There are times when peace is disturbed by those who wish to spread chaos and disorder. Our job is to stop it from spreading and keep peace. It isn't easy, but it's worth it." Antauri finished before giving her a small smile.

Willow smiled, feeling warm.

"Yeah...I guess you're right." She said.

The two sat in silence again before Willow gripped her sheets. She looked troubled.

"Something wrong?" Antauri asked.

Willow shakily sighed.  
"It's just...I'm a little worried about losing control over my powers." She sighed.

Antauri was confused.

"A few months ago when Mandarin 2 attacked the robot the first time, I almost lost control of my darkness. I...I'm just worried that it will happen again. I can barely control my aura as it is." She sighed.

Antauri raised his head a bit. Chiro once told him that Willow was slowly getting a hold of her aura about a year ago. Has no one really told her since?

"Willow about that."

Willow looked over at him but Antauri shook his head.

"Never mind, I'll tell you after the battle is over."

Willow blinked before continuing.

"I'm also worried that if my rage grows enough, that I'll turn into my dragon form and..." Willow bit her lip as she began to tear up.

Antauri cupped her face, wiping her tears away.

"Your dragon form?"

"I guess it's a part of my back story and it's just something my necklace can make me do!" Willow huffed.

Antauri nodded, getting it.

"Don't worry, we'll be there in case anything goes wrong. You don't have to worry about being alone anymore." He said and that caused Willow to tear up.

She sniffled and wiped her eyes.

"God how did I get this lucky to have you?" She huffed.

Antauri chuckled, his cheeks blue.

"I can ask myself the same question about you."

Willow froze, causing Antauri to worry that he said something wrong.

"O-oh I apologize, I didn't mean to offend. I was just saying-"

Willow snickered.

"I know what you meant, it's fine." She said.

Antauri sighed a bit before getting up.

"Wait!" Willow grabbed his arm.

Antauri looked back at her, she looked off to the side and blushed.

"C-can you stay here a bit longer? I mean Chiro won't be back for a while so..."

Antauri blinked before nodding.

"I don't see why not." He said before laying next to her.

Willow smiled and scooted closer to him, holding his hand. The two fell asleep, using what little time they had to rest.

* * *

Mandarin groaned a bit as Otto snuggled up with him.

"Can't you all do this in the command center?" He asked as the Hyperforce sat around in Mandarin's room.

Chiro shrugged.

"We thought you might want to be a part of planning." He said.

Mandarin wiped his forehead.

"I've been feeling out of it all morning, it's probably not the best time for me to plan an attack." He sighed.

Nova looked concerned.

"You don't think you're going to into labor today are you?" She asked, worried.

Mandarin closed his eyes and shook his head.

"No, the only pain I have been feeling is Braxton hicks, and I've only felt them a bit this morning." He said, remembering the urgent call he made to Tilamat.

Everyone felt relieved, but still felt a bit concerned. Gibson turned to Chiro.

"The advertisements of the concert are all around the city by now, the citizens will flock to the park and to the screens where the concert will be broadcasted." He said, turning on the Tv and showing various advertisements with some of the contestants on them, including Brittany and Trent.

Some of the citizens noticed the advertisements, noting that the park and the time of the concert will be at six pm.

Chiro smirked.

"And so will the Formless, good. When the Formless will group together when the Sueronians are herding them, that's when we come in and take care of them. Then we find Sage and Skelemandarin and finish this." He explained, causing the others to cheer and Mandarin to groan at the noise.

"Stop yelling!" He sighed.

"Sorry, anyway where's Willow and Antauri?" Arwen asked.

Where were they? It wasn't like them to not show up. Nova hopped up.

"I'll get them." She offered, leaving the room.

Chiro turned to the others as Otto raised a hand.

"I just delivered the weapons to the Gary Stus, they're ready to use them!" He chirped.

"Great, in just six hours we will finally-!"

They all then heard a loud scream.

"Nova!" Sprx exclaimed as everyone ran up.

Minus Mandarin, who slowly began clapping.

"G-great motivational speech there, child."

* * *

Willow and Antauri were unintentionally curled up together, sleeping soundlessly. However, Nova's loud scream made them fall out of the bed. The others soon entered the room, with Nova pointing at them.

"What were you two doing?!" She demanded.

Willow and Antauri looked at each other.

"Nothing!" They both said.

"Then why were you two asleep on the same bed?" Nova asked, tapping her foot.

"What?!" Everyone shouted, causing the two to blush like crazy.

"Antauri of all people-!" Gibson began.

"We were just sleeping!" Willow defended.

Arwen raised an eyebrow.

"Just sleeping?" She asked, crossing her arms.

The two quickly nodded.

"But why were you sleeping together?" Otto asked.

Everyone listened in, waiting. Downstairs you could hear Mandarin yell,

"It doesn't matter! Get back here and plan properly you school children!"

Ignoring that, Willow scratched her chin.

"Well we were talking and we just...fell asleep." She said softly.

"Is that all you did?" Amanda asked, smirking.

Willow glared.

"Yes! Now come on we got to prepare for tonight!" She huffed as everyone left the room,

Mandarin rubbed his forehead after watching that on the tv he had. It just never ends with them does it?

* * *

Trent looked down at his wrist, which had a wristband with a few numbers, '7520'. They were for identifying him on the concert stage just in case something happened to the cameras.

Brittany stretched, now in her Sueronian form.

"I'd thought we'd never get out of there, now come on let's go practice." She said, grabbing Trent's arm and pulled him into another room.

They then came across a huge amount of Sueronians, all talking vividly while a few practiced off to the side. Trent felt his stomach drop at the sight of the other auditionees. How was he going to compete with these girls?! They were so pretty and shiny and him? What did he have?!

Brittany elbowed him.

"Remember, they smell fear." She whispered.

Trent nodded as they entered the room. Trent felt the stares of some of the other girls before he felt two arms grab him from behind. His first reaction was to wriggle out before he looked at who was hugging him.

"Aunt Emmy!" He cried before hugging the ex leader of the Starlights.

Emerald hugged her nephew tightly before they let go.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" He asked.

Emerald smiled and patted his head.

"Did you honestly think I would miss out on my nephew's audition and to my old band no less?" She questioned.

Trent smiled widely while Brittany walked up next to him.

"I...I'm just surprised! How's mom?"

"Still married to that jerk, what else?" Emerald sighed.

Trent rolled his eyes, of course.

"Why am I not surprised? Anyway it's amazing you're here! Is grandma here too?" Trent asked.

Emerald sighed sadly.

"No, but she'll be watching at home."

Brittany smiled.

"U-um it's nice to see you again." She said.

Emerald smiled.

"It's nice to see you again too Britt, your mom says she's cheering for you."

Brittany's cheeks flushed.

"I bet she is."

Emerald giggled before pointing behind her.

"I'm also here helping Crystal with her daughters. They're handfuls." She said.

Trent nearly fell over, Crystal the heart throbber was here too?!

"It's the best day ever for you is it?"

"It's been the best year ever!" Trent wheezed.

Emerald took his hand.

"Well then you should come over, it's best to be around people you know for now anyway." She said as Trent tried to let go so he can walk by himself.

They went over to three girls, one of them being the beautiful girl with the red hair and dark skin. With her was one girl with magenta shoulder length hair with blue eyes, wore a blue shirt and white pants, and had dark skin. The other was a girl in lacy pink clothes, had long strawberry blond hair, pink eyes, dark skin, and had cat ears and tail.

"Now do I wink and then blow kisses or kiss and wink?" The cat girl asked.

"You should blow kisses and then wink, It's much cuter!" Crystal said, cheerfully.

The magenta haired girl tilted her head.

"Now mom, with my character should I mention my tragic backstory?"

"No, That'd be too soon! Use your magic when protecting the fans."

Emerald waved a hand.

"Crystal! I got my nephew!" She called out.

Crystal turned and gasped.

"Oh my gosh! He's so tall now!" She exclaimed as they went up to her.

The cat eared girl looked him over.

"He is! And cute too!" She cooed, causing Trent to feel very uncomfortable.

"Marina no, leave him alone." The magenta haired girl huffed.

Marina huffed.

"Fine, killjoy."

The girl rolled her eyes and walked up to Trent, hand out.

"I'm Skyla, the future leader of Starlights." She chirped.

Brittany raised an eyebrow.

"Future leader?" She asked.

Skyla placed her hands on her hips confidently.

"Yep! It's been my dream to lead a musical ensemble and it's going to be this one!" She said.

Brittany wasn't buying any of her bullshit, but Trent smiled.

"Well good luck, I don't know how leaders are elected but I'm sure you'll get it." He said.

Skyla crossed her arms and nodded.

"Thank you, leaders are chosen at the selection ceremony after the concert. So you won't have to wait long."

Brittany internally groaned at her ego, but Trent nodded politely.

Crystal hugged both Marina and Skyla.

"My babies are going to sing in front of thousands! I'm getting nostalgic." She sighed as the girls tried to wriggle out of her grasp.

Marina looked behind them and froze.

"Don't move! It's goth sues!" She whispered.

They heard a scoff.

"Please, I'm a mix of rebel punk bitch sue ."

They turned to Yui and a girl with pale blond hair with blue streaks and alternative clothes. The blond girl crossed her arms.

"Maybe you can not judge people based on what clothes they wear?" She huffed as Yui rolled her eyes.

"Iris please, you'd do the same if they came over to us." She said, causing Iris to scoff.

Iris then looked at Trent.

"You're the only man? Huh, thought you'd be more...dashing." She said.

Trent flinched.

"I don't need to be dashing!" He huffed.

Yui snickered.

"He ain't a prince stu...wait what type are you?" Yui asked.

Trent frowned a bit, unsure by what she meant.

"He doesn't know, he just found out he was half Sueronian a few months ago." Brittany said.

Yui nodded a bit, getting it.

"Okay, don't worry then. I didn't find out I was a Sueronian until three years ago." She said.

Crystal and Emerald decided to leave them alone for a bit, letting them bond.

"Yeah but this guy only found out a few months ago! What is he going to identify as?" Skyla asked.

Trent pointed at himself.

"I'll just identify as me, isn't that good enough?" He asked.

The other girls fell silent.

Marina giggled and patted his head.

"Sounds good to me, you'd probably make girls swoon either way."

Trent blushed, embarrassed.

Iris sighed.

"It's not about making them swoon, we entertain them." She huffed.

"It's a bit disconcerting that you don't have a type yet, but I'm sure you'll be fine." A tall woman in a lab coat with long blue hair said.

Everyone quickly turned to her, not even noticing she was there.

"Who-?!"

"Violet!" Marina cheered, hugging her.

She turned to the others.

"Sorry, this is Violet. She and I were bffs since we were tiny!" Marina chirped.

Everyone nodded a bit. Skyla smiled and crossed her arms.

"Well I should practice, I don't want to jeopardize up my leadership skills." She said before leaving.

Yui and Brittany groaned.

Marina began to follow her, taking Violet with her.

"Wait I'll join you!" She yelled.

"Marina we should go over battle tactics!" Violet urged.

"That's booooring!"

Marina turned to Trent.

"Bye Trenty!" She cooed before following her sister.

Trent awkwardly waved as Brittany patted his shoulder.

"Several minutes in and already a Sueronian has a crush on you...that's pretty amazing." She said.

Iris rolled her eyes.

"Hardly, well I need to go work on my fighting. You coming Yui?" She asked.

Yui shook her head.

"No I'm good for now."

"Wait aren't you going to practice singing?" Brittany asked.

Iris flinched and looked off to the side, frowning.

"I never cared for singing..." She mumbled.

Trent leaned foreword.

"What did you say?" He asked.

Iris turned around.

"It's nothing." She muttered, walking off.

The others looked at each other, what was that about? They suddenly heard a whistle blow. They looked over to Marie, who held a clipboard and had racks of costumes behind her.

"Okay everyone, we have to practice for tonight's concert. Starting with River."

A lot of the girls tensed up at the song title, knowing how hard the choreography was. Trent and the others went up to the front.

Marie looked at them.

"Brittany, Trent, since the citizens are possibly more familiar with you and more recognizable you'll be at the forefront of the song." She said.

"Us?!" Trent questioned as the duo's eyes widened.

Everyone began complaining instantly.

"Why them?!"

"So a man is already up in front of the girls, perfect!"

"This is so dumb!"

Marie whistled again and sighed.

"A lot of you will have the chance to be up front, we have to see which member is better at being center. So you'll have to be at different positions." She explained, reviving a few grumbles from the other girls.

Brittany nodded a bit, no doubt nervous, Trent meanwhile felt terror. Sheer terror. He felt the angry stares behind him.

Marie turned towards the costume racks and pulled out dark outfits with medium lengthened skirts. She pulled out one outfit and held it out to Trent.

"We don't have enough pants for all of the set pieces tonight, so you'll have to wear these..." She said, smiling sadly.

A few girls snickered loudly as Trent looked at the outfit.

"Okay." He said, taking it as the snickers stopped.

Brittany blinked at just how nonchalant he was.

"Can I get my legs waxed real quick? I don't want anyone to see my leg hair." Trent chirped, causing the others to laugh.

Brittany placed a hand on her forehead. Typical Trent behavior.

* * *

The evening began to come in and many egear citizens arrive to the park. There were murmurs about what band this was and why they were here. The screen then switched to the bridge as Formless started to cross it.

"Are all the citizens at the park?" Chiro asked.

"Yep! And the concert will be starting in a few minutes so we better get going." Nova said.

Willow then entered the room, wearing a black armored shirt and black jeans with more armor underneath it. She pulled on some black combat gloves and stretched.

"Agreed, I'm ready to finish this." She sighed, Antauri blushing slightly.

Amanda nodded and began to walk off when Arwen touched her shoulder.

"Wait a minute Amanda, I'm going too." She said.

Amanda turned, shocked.

"But mom-!"

"You can't fly and use the blasters at the same time, I can use those." Arwen interrupted her, smirking.

Amanda blinked before smirking back.

"Sounds good to me." She said before they left.

Willow held her necklace close to her before sighing. She looked at Antauri.

"Let's do this." She said.

Antauri nodded and Chiro raised a fist.

"Hyperforce go!"

Mandarin watched as the team left the robot and stealthily went through alleyways. He felt the ship Amanda was using take off, knowing they would land somewhere and wait. He sighed, wiping his forehead.  
He wanted to go too, he really wanted to finish his clone but even if he could, they'd want him to be spared. Mandarin will never understand why, however there wasn't much he could do right now. Mandarin sighed and rested back, thinking of ways to at least be of some use to them.

He felt a sharp pain in his stomach and he clutched it. Mandarin quickly realized that this wasn't Braxton hicks contractions, they were the real thing. He sat there for a second, soaking it in before he turned on his communicator.

"Tilamat?"

* * *

Oooh boy that ain't good! And how will this battle turn out? Find out in the next update!


	35. Chapter 35

Hey you like musicals right? I like them too. So here's a musical chapter kinda, please enjoy!

River, Love's accelerator and Heart shaped Virus belong to Akb48.

* * *

The overture for Starlights began and the citizens cheered. The Hyperforce ran through the empty streets.

"The main stage is beginning, your anti-aura ear phones are activated and ready to go." Marie's voice said over their communicators.

"When River is over we will trap the formless in the streets with Heart Shaped Virus. Then you'll come in and destroy them."

"Got it!" Willow said as they waited by one of the buildings with the larger screens.

They looked up as the concert sized ship landed and spread out, having smaller stages along it.  
The overture ended and it was silent.

"S-t...a-r-lights!"

Fire shot from the stage as the song kicked in, the Sueronians dancing as one.

 _"Foreword foreword! Go straight ahead!"_

Amanda and Arwen were nearby in their ship, waiting for any flying Formless. Amanda pushed a few buttons and a small screen popped up showing the concert.

 _"Cross the river! Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!"  
_  
Amanda smiled a bit as Trent and Brittany were right up front as the group crowded them.

 _"A dream always looks go far away,"_ Trent and Brittany sang, raising their arms in an ex motion and then slowly dropping them.

Amanda watched nervously while Arwen settled up the blasters.

 _"It feels like it's distance couldn't possibly reached."_

Trent looked so confident and happy now, it made Amanda worry about whether he would get in or not.

The Hyperforce watched from the alleyways, watching for any early formless activity.

"Are we ready?" Chiro asked.

"Yeah!" The other chimed in.

Yui, Iris, Violet, and another Sueronian with long white hair went up to the front after Trent and Brittany's formation cleared.

 _"Pick up that stone under your foot and with all your might throw it away!"_

The citizens were no doubt amazed by what they were witnessing, the dancing and singing were incredible. The men were quite interested in the female Sueronians, while a few of the women were highly interested in Trent.

 _"Just before your eyes, a river is flowing. Broadly, it's such a great river."_

The lights and music pulsed intensely, a few instances of fire shooting from the stage lighting up every now and then.

 _"Darkly, deeply even so the current may be fast but even so."_

Iris was having a tough time getting used to the dancing. Yui began to notice this.  
 _  
"You don't need to be afraid, even if the other side can't be seen. That's right,"_

Trent slipped and nearly fell when Brittany caught him. He gave her a look that said, 'Don't worry, I got this.'

 _"the other side is there so more, you just need to,"_

Brittany smiled a bit.

 _"Believe yourself!"_ The two sang as they got back up.

 _"Get over it. River!"_ The fireworks went off, dazzling the audience.  
 _  
"Ah-ah-ah-ah! Stop telling yourself excuses!"_

Willow watched intently as Trent and Brittany kept going.  
 _  
"Can't do nothing but keep going!"_ Trent sang.

Willow sniffled.

"Trent, you and Brittany look amazing." She muttered.

 _"Ah-ah-ah-ah! Gotta keep moving forward. Keep going, keep going keep walking on the path you've decided!"_

The lights turned to the front as Trent and Brittany were at the front again. Trent sighed as his and Brittany's solo came up.

 _"Just before your very eyes, a river is flowing. Broadly, it's such a great river!"_ Trent sang.

If the small group of girls weren't fangirling over Trent before, they were now. The size of the group was also beginning to grow.

 _"Darkly, deeply, even so the current may be fast, even so!"_ Brittany sang, having the men fall in love.

 _"Relax, relax, relax, relax!"_ The backup singers chimed in, adding a sense of harmony.

 _"You don't need to be afraid, even if the other side can't be seen. That's right, the other side is there,"_

Trent never felt as amazing as he did now, it was like all of the magic he heard from his CDs of Starlights was coming from him and everyone else.  
 _  
"So more, you just need to believe yourself! Inside your heart too, is a river. A river of sweat and tears!"_

One of the flying Formless came early and landed near the stage. A handsome man with glasses fired at it with the undead blasters, and it fell instantly.

"These things really do work!" He yelled to the others.

"Of course they do you idiot!"

 _"Even if you fail, even if you cry it's ok to start over. You can't complain,"_

This causes Amanda and Arwen to look up and notice the flying Formless entering view.

"Crap!" Amanda cursed as the ship lifted off and went right towards them.

 _"Cling to your dream until it one day comes true."_

Arwen grabbed the handles on her side of the ship and began firing.

"You're not going anywhere near the park!" Amanda growled.

 _"Cross the river! You can do it!"_

The fireworks shot up again and everyone cheered loudly.

Trent sighed as the lights dimmed and they left the stage for Main Street, that felt amazing.

* * *

"The formless are coming in Chiro." Gibson said.

Chiro peeked out of the alleyway and saw the army of formless coming into view.

They looked around for any source of life, even peeking through trash cans and inside buildings. The music that shot through the speakers made the monsters jump a bit before looking around. Heart shaped lights began to cover the buildings and began circling around.

The Hyperforce looked around before they saw Brittany coming out from behind a panel on top of a smaller building.

 _"At first it didn't hit me."_ She sang.

 _"It felt a bit bothersome."_ Skyla chimed in from another building.

Yui held onto a hand of a huge fake plastic robot.

 _"When asked about it, I kept quiet and nodded."_

The Formless were entranced by the singing, almost as if they were under some sort of spell. They then began to flock towards the source of the noise.  
 _  
"I know he's a good guy."_ Trent sang from on top of a building with a painted eye on it.

 _"But he really isn't my type."_ Violet sung on a building across from him.

 _"Even though I wasn't planning for us to become friends."_ Iris sang before running behind a corner.

Most of the army of formless were now under the aura's spell, although there were still some who weren't affected.

At the main concert stage in the back, Niro grumbled.

"It's seems that most of them aren't affected."

Crystal edged in a bit, looking for Marina.

The formless paused as a sweet voice rang out. Marina appeared from the building that Iris was next to.

 _"Where and how did it happen? While I was unaware, I fell in love."_ She sang, making a heart shape out of her hands.

Sprx's eyes widened when he saw the entire army of Formless swoon.

"Holy crap this is actually working."

Chiro turned to the others.

"That's our cue! Let's take them out team!"

The team ran out of the alley way and into the formless army, who was completely unaware of what's going on.  
 _  
"From this heart shaped virus, it looks like I've become sick."_

Marina struck a sexy pose as the Formless were still distracted.

"Chiro spearo!" Chiro threw a lightning bolt at a group of Formless, destroying them.

"Flame fist fury!" Nova yelled before engulfing a few Formless in flames.

 _"Not a single injection can cure it."_

Willow formed a black ball in her hand and threw it at a large group of Formless. They all heard beams being fired at the flying Formless above, no doubt Amanda and Arwen were taking care of it. The numbers of the Formless began to dwindle.

"Laser lass drill!" Gibson shouted, taking down more Formless.

"This is actually working!" Otto said happily.

 _"You're the only one I'm thinking about and now I can hardly concentrate."_ Trent and Marina sang before she stepped up.

"This can't be happening! Or so I thought..." Marina sighed.

The last few Formless kept watching as the Hyperforce crowded them. Marina smiled.

"But the truth is that I grew to love you!" She declared.

Crystal held back a loud squeal of happiness as the staff relied back in surprise.

Love and lust were the last feelings the Formless ever felt before they were destroyed. The team cheered and Chiro turned towards the bridge, seeing a large cloud of darkness coming towards them. He looked up at the girls and Trent.

"You guys head on back and keep the citizens safe! We got this!" He yelled.

Yui nodded and looked towards everyone else.

"Let's make this last verse count everyone!" She said and they all nodded.

They turned and quickly went back, finishing the song.

 _"From this heart shaped virus, it looks like I've become sick, not a single injection can cure it."_

The Hyperforce turned towards the dark cloud, vaguely seeing two shapes walking towards them. Willow glared at it harshly.

 _"You're the only one I'm thinking about and now I can hardly concentrate."_

"Let's finish this." She grumbled.

 _"Now I can hardly concentrate."_

The song finished and the heart lights disappeared. Leaving them in deafening silence.

* * *

"Yui, right on time. You guys were great!" Marie said proudly as Yui grabbed her costume for 'Love's Accelerator'.

Crystal hugged Marina.

"My baby did so good! You were just like me!" She squealed.

Trent looked back outside, wanting to go out and help the others. Brittany touched his shoulder.

"Don't worry, they'll be fine." She said.

"But I want to go out there with them and help..." Trent muttered.

Brittany smiled.

"We already helped them, but we're needed here." She said.

Trent looked back at her, still wanting to go out and help them. However, she was right and for now he had to stay here.

The two then heard loud music play as they peeked out on the stage, seeing Yui burst out from a large prop, wearing a black and red tank top with a red and black layered skirt and holding a sword.  
 _  
"Don't look at me with such sweet eyes. I know who said those egotistical things."_ She began, having such a serious expression.

Skyla crossed her arms a bit while Iris kept watching her friend sing. Trent looked over at her.

"She's really good."

"Yeah..." Iris muttered.

"So...you said something about never caring for singing?" Trent asked.

Iris flinched and glared at him.

"Yeah? So what?"

Trent looked over at a group of Gary Stus guarding the stage, looking around for any Formless activity.

"Well why didn't you try to join the Gary Stus? If I could pass the first auditions you can-"

"You think I have any choice?!" She yelled, getting attention from a few other Sueronians.

Trent was taken back by her tone, Iris realized what she said and looked out at Yui.

 _"Step harder on love's accelerator at the speed of memories being shaken away..."_ She sang, her voice a pure powerhouse.

"Besides...I'm already here...I might not even get in." Iris muttered, sounding hopeful at the end.

Trent frowned a bit and wanted to ask again when Skyla sighed.

"I wanted to sing Love Accelerator, all the cool captains get to sing it." She said.

Brittany raised an eyebrow.

"Does singing a song prove leadership skills?" She asked.

"Well...no. But I still wanted to sing it." Skyla huffed.

Violet tilted her head.

"What will you do if you don't become captain?" She suggested.

Skyla froze and looked back at her, almost as if she spoke another language.

"If I don't get in?" She asked, putting emphasis on 'don't'.

Iris rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, what if someone like Violet or Brittany becomes captain? Are you going to throw a fit or something?"

"I don't throw fits!" Skyla huffed before thinking it over.

"Umm...then...then I would...huh." Skyla was completely confused.

Violet walked up to her.

"You should have a backup plan in case you don't get the position, until then just try your hardest to get it." She suggested.

Skyla nodded slowly and looked down.

"Y-yeah." She said before looking out onto the stage.

Yui finished the song by placing the sword out in front of her and holding onto it. Skyla gulped, she had a lot to do in order to become captain.

* * *

The dark cloud came closer to them before it finally dissipated. The others squinted as dust flew past them. Skelemandarin looked around.

"Well...I thought the army would have been taken out much later but I was wrong!" He said.

Sage chuckled.

"Come on, you knew they would get some help from other Sueronians."

The team froze at this, they knew?! Willow then noticed Diamanda's choker on Sage's neck.

"H-hey! That looks like-!"

"Diamanda's? Oh yeah, I ran into her a little while back as she tried to leave this planet. Unfortunately she won't be going home for a long time." Sage said sinisterly.

Nova got out her large fists.

"What did you do to her?!" She demanded.

Sage and Skelemandarin looked at each other.

"Oh...nothing too important." Skelemandarin said.

Sage formed a white fireball in his hand. The others looked at each other slightly.

"So let's get to the real reason why we're here. Taking you out!" Skelemandarin laughed as he formed a energy cannon with his hand.

Willow growled and morphed black balls in each hand.

"Funny! We could say the same about you!" She snarled as Antauri looked at her.

"Monkeys mobilize!" Chiro yelled as they charged at him.

Quickly Sage blew them all back as Skelemandarin charged towards them and began firing at them. The team quickly got up and began to attack.

"So where's that other me at? Still wallowing in guilt?!" Sage asked as he went hand to hand with Chiro with his dragon claws.

"Please! Trent is much stronger because of that experience now!" Willow huffed, kicking Sage from under his feet.

He teleported behind Willow and right hooked her. Antauri growled and rushed towards him.

"Phase and daze!"

Sage tried to fight him off but ended up getting scratched. Skelemandarin and Otto kept fighting each other while the others tried to gang up on Sage. Skelemandarin tried to blast Otto's head but the green monkey kept dodging. Otto then shielded himself with his saws as a black sword tried to slice at him.

"You know you don't have to keep doing this! You can leave all of this behind!" Otto said, trying to appeal to him.

Skelemandarin scoffed.

"Please! Like I would listen to someone as lesser as you!" He said before kicking Otto away.

Skelemandarin then felt surging pain on his back as Sprx thrusted his magnets into his back.

"He's right Mandarin 2, you don't have to do this!" He yelled as Skelemandarin sat up.

His shoulders shook before he turned to Sprx.

"That...is the last time I want to be referred as 'Mandarin 2'!" He yelled before punching Sprx in the face.

"Sprx!" Otto yelled before Skelemandarin went back to fighting him.

"Don't any of you idiots get it?! I am the superior Mandarin, not that muscular blob!"

Otto blinked a bit before seething with anger.

"Don't you dare talk about him like that!" He yelled before going at him.

"Ooh did I strike a nerve? Did I insult your precious boyfriend?" Skelemandarin teased, backing up as Otto kept trying to hit him.

Otto glared at him.

"Yes!"

Skelemandarin blinked.

"Oh, well I had no idea I mean-" he stuttered before Otto punched him.

Sage kept dodging the team's rapid attacks before blasting them away. Willow groaned before she realized Sage was standing over her, white fireball in hand.

"So, give my regards to your father for me when you reunite with him!" He laughed.

Then a laser shot down next to him, causing Sage to jump. The ship that Amanda was driving flew over them and landed not too far away. Amanda and Arwen hopped out of the ship and ran towards them, ice shards in hand.  
Sage growled and blasted several beams of energy at them before getting knocked to the ground by Nova. He and Skelemandarin were cornered.

"Give up you two! It's over!" Antauri exclaimed.

Skelemandarin shakily got up, holding himself up.

"I...refuse to lose to y-!" He stopped his speech before he heard some dark chuckling.

Everyone shivered as Sage slowly got up, now laughing. He pulled out a dark crystal from his pocket and laughed loudly.

"Over? Oh no buddy, it's just getting started!" He declared.

Arwen gasped, realizing what he was about to do.

"Sage don't! No Sueronian has ever tried to use two sources of power at once before! It's been said that doing such a thing could kill them!" Arwen shouted, trying to get him to stop.

Jinmay turned to her.

"It hasn't been tried before?!"

"And for good reason! It's completely insane!"

"Then I have nothing to lose! If I'm going down, I'm taking all of you with me!" Sage yelled before putting the crystal necklace over the choker and everyone flew back because of the power surge it released.

Skelemandarin grimaced before looking up. Sage's body was covered in dark purple veins and had a bright purple light around him.

"What...what have I created?" He breathed.

* * *

HOOOOO SHIT SAGE HAS GONE OFF THE DEEP END! How will this fan out? Find out in the next update! Thanks for reading!

.tv/video/AKB48-RIVER/4a4053f2a561d4c818c12ef775561865

Viemo: /79593843


	36. Chapter 36

Welcome back, now this may be the only chapter I update this week because I'm going on a boating trip Saturday through Monday morning. Friday and Thursday are gonna be weird due to unknown work reasons. So please enjoy! Seaside Cherry belongs to AKB48

* * *

Trent felt off and looked to the other side of the city.

"What was that?" He muttered.

Yui walked up next to him as 'Gingham Check' played on stage.

"You feel that too?" She asked.

Trent turned to her, surprised a bit. He nodded. Yui rubbed her arms as she tilted her head, seeing flashes of light not too far away.

"Whatever's going on over there...it can't be good." She muttered.

Trent sweated nervously.

"I-I'm not worried, things usually turn out ok for us."

Yui looked back outside, not really saying anything at first.

"Being friends with the Hyperforce...sounds nice." She muttered.

Trent looked at her.

"Yeah, it is." He said, smiling.

Yui kept quiet for a second before turning to him.

"It actually sounds a bit like how I was with my old friends..."

Trent tilted his head.

"Old friends?" He asked.

Yui nodded, still looking outside.

"I was on Terra with this group of mutant reptiles. My backstory consisted of tragic abuse from so called 'parents', a secret twin sister, and some lineage to an incredible race of beings, but...I had to leave it behind when I found out who I really was." She explained.

Trent frowned a bit.

"Why did you have to leave?" He asked.

Yui turned to him.

"Because! What if you are having amazing adventures with your friends, being in love with an amazing leader, and having all sorts of incredible things happen, only to find out you were somehow controlling the whole thing and making everything a freaking fantasy?! I didn't want them to live through that, I wanted them to live their lives with their willpower, not mine." She choked, holding her arm band, which had a skull on it.

"So I...I had to erase anything that had to do with me on that planet and left. I didn't want...I didn't want to control them like puppets anymore." Yui finished, holding back tears.

All of this sounded really familiar to Trent, it sounded like stuff Willow was saying when she found out about her Sueronian traits. He smiled and placed a hand on Yui's arm, realizing that her and Willow may not be so different.

"It's not like you knew, or had any control of it at the time."

Yui stared at him, confused.

"Seriously, you didn't know. I mean I understand why you left, but it wasn't your fault. I'm sure aura or no aura, they'd still be your friends." He comforted.

Yui smiled a bit.

"That is a nice thought but I'm not sure if it would've worked for me. Thank you though, besides it's not all bad. I mean I did travel to a lot of planets and learn more about Sueronian history." She said.

Trent bounced a bit, interested.

"Ooh like what?" He asked.

Yui's eyes lit up and her smile grew.

"Oh Trent there's so much in Sueronian history I could talk about! I don't even know where to start! " Yui said excitedly.

Trent smiled too, feeling her excitement.

"Maybe start with the Sueronians in history, like who was the most famous one?" He suggested.

This caught Brittany's attention and she walked over. Yui groaned a bit, still smiling.

"Oh man, it's been a while but let me think." She said, placing a hand on her chin.

"Hmm, I know she was one of the most infamous Sueronians to ever existed. She and a friend of hers took on an entire magic school and was actually successful in taking over." She explained.

"She was?! How?" Trent asked.

"I don't really remember the details but she basically converted the heroes and villains of the school to be like whatever she was? I don't know." Yui sighed.

"What happened to her?" Trent asked.

"No one knows, her communication was just cut off." Yui said.

Brittany and Trent shivered. That didn't sound too good.

"Cut off? Was she found out?"

"No I don't really think so, there was no signs of anyone coming to. So we still don't know."

The three were silent for a while.

"W-what was her name?" Brittany asked.

Yui crossed her arms, that was the toughest part for her. Her name.

"I can't remember the parts of her name but I do remember Raven, that I remember. I remember a darkness in there too...or was it blackness I can't remember." Yui sighed.

"That's good enough, she sounds really important." Trent said.

Yui nodded, remembering how this Raven girl inspired so many Sueronians.

"What do you mean you're changing the set position?!" Marie demanded, causing others to turn around.

Nero sighed.

"Look Marie, he's just not popular to be center. Brittany is ahead of him by a landslide, so it would make more sense to have her be center." He said.

Marie growled as Emerald stepped foreword.

"But you don't change their positions at the last minute like that! Did you even look at the audition tape he sent in?! How talented he is?!"

Kala sadly looked at her.

"It's already been decided Emerald, I know you care about him but we're doing this to think about the show."

"It's not that! You just don't want him to get selected and you are pushing him to the back! Just because he's the only guy!" Emerald yelled.

Marie placed a hand on her shoulder.

"That's enough Emmy."

Emerald turned to her.

"But Marie-!"

"I hate this too, but he's in charge of the set list. However, I do hope you're not doing this because he is male Nero." Marie said, her eyes like daggers.

Nero sighed and laid his pen down.

"The females are more popular Marie."

Emerald growled and was about to claw his face out, but Marie held her back.

Marie turned to the others.

"Brittany, you're going to switch places with Trent in Seaside Cherry." She said sadly.

Brittany's eyes widened as she turned to Trent, seeing how disappointed he was.

"B-but that's Trent's song!" She defended.

Marie sighed.

"I know, but I can't do anything about it."

Nero smiled at her.

"Think about it like this, you'll attract more fans this way. Isn't that nice?" He asked.

Brittany glared at him, teeth clenched. She doesn't want to lead that song, Trent should! He loves that song to death! Was it all just a popularity contest to this little freak?!

Yui stepped next to Trent, who was biting his lip.

"He does have a lot of fangirls by now sir, wouldn't a female demographic be just as profitable as a male demographic?" She asked.

Nero rolled his eyes.

"Please, there are a ton of girls that would love Starlights with or without a male in it."

"He's right here!" Yui exclaimed.

"Like I said before, he has to try really hard in order to get in." Nero sighed.

"But you're not giving him the opportunities to try!" Marie thought.

Nero got up and walked away.

"Be ready in ten, after First Rabbit you'll go next."

Emerald tried to wriggle free and run after him, but Marie was stronger than her. Trent felt like someone punched him, he was so looking forward to singing it. Yui turned to him.

"D-don't worry, when you get in you'll get to sing Seaside Cherry as much as you want." She said.

"If I get in..." Trent muttered.

Yui held him by his shoulders.

"No, don't even go there. You will get in, I know you will." She said.

"How do you know?!" Trent asked.

Yui gave him a serious look.

"I just do, ok?"

Brittany held her arm, pissed. There was no way she was letting Trent be pushed aside. There was just no way. She turned to Trent and pulled on his arm, leading him to the costume racks.

"Brittany what are you doing?" Trent asked.

"I got a plan." She quickly replied.

* * *

The team and Skelemandarin backed up as they saw the over powered Sage. He smirked.

"What's wrong? Never seen such amazing power before?" He asked, his voice sounding distorted.

"Sage you take off that crystal this instant! Your body won't be able to handle it!" Arwen shouted at him.

"You said it's never been done before, so what do you know?!" Sage laughed before morphing a light purple ball of flame with electricity around it.

He threw it in Arwen's direction but the others quickly dodged it. He flinched at the growing pain but ignored it. This caused a few building pieces to fall and nearly hit them. The team hid behind one of the bigger pieces of debris.

"That idiot." Arwen cursed.

"What do we do? He's too powerful now." Otto gulped, worried.

Willow looked around the corner, seeing Skelemandarin back up a bit more.

"Come on Mandy! Let's finish them!" Sage chirped.

"Sage you need to settle down, you clearly can't handle two power sources at once. You're losing control." Skelemandarin pointed out.

Sage pointed at himself, frowning.

"I am in control and I'm sick of losing! Isn't this what you want?! Finally beating the Hyperforce after all this time?!"

"I didn't want it to turn out like this!" Skelemandarin shouted.

Sage growled and formed another electric fireball.

"Are you doubting me?!" He growled before throwing it at him.

Skelemandarin dodged it and used his blaster to fight him.

Antauri peeked around the corner before looking back at the others.

"If he's starting to loose control, that means we might have the upper hand. Mentally." He said.

Willow looked at Sage as he and Skelemandarin fought. It was true, something just didn't seem right with Sage. He kicked Skelemandarin away and blasted a beam of energy at him.

"So we basically try to get to him and rip off the crystal?" Jinmay asked.

"That sounds like a good plan to me but we need someone to keep him distracted." Chiro said.

Everyone at that moment turned to Willow, who looked around before realizing.

"M-me?!" She squeaked.

Chiro nodded.

"Yes, you have to somehow keep his attention away from us long enough to get the crystal away from him." He explained.

Willow wanted to refuse, saying she couldn't do it. However she realized, this is what she had to do. She nodded and at the moment, the debris was blown away.

"Oh there you are! Now back to destroying you!" He yelled as Skelemandarin winced, injured.

Willow stood up and turned to him, eyes like fire. She turned her hands into dragon claws and set them on fire.

"If you want them you'll have to go through me first!"

Sage laughed hard.

"Oh this is too rich! What's a little fire freak like you got against me? I have two Sueronian power sources, I overpower you." He pointed out.

Willow growled.

"What you're saying may be true, but that doesn't matter!" She said jumping into the air while the team scattered.

Sage looked up as Willow came back down to him, foot outstretched.

"I'm still gonna kick your ass!"

* * *

First Rabbit finished as the Sueronians ran out. Skyla jumped into the air.

"That was amazing! I never felt more alive!" She cheered as she set down a while hat and grabbed her water.

Marina nodded as she saw the stage go dark for a moment.

"Oh! Trenty's song is starting!" She chirped, going up a bit.

Yui bit her lip as she watched with the others. She didn't really hear what Brittany's plan was, hopefully the girl won't do anything stupid.

Sounds of waves crashing filled the stage before the music started. Trent, Violet, and Iris were wearing the blue costumes while Brittany wore yellow. She lead the three as they danced.

Marina's eyes widened in shock.

"What's Brittany doing?!" She asked.

"Management switched her and Trent's positions." Yui almost growled when she replied.

Everyone turned to her, shocked.

"B-but that's not fair! They can't just change it at the last minute!" Skyla gasped.

Yui looked at where the staff was and glared.

 _"Cherry cherry boy, cherry cherry girl, you run past me."_ Brittany sang.

The male citizens were adoring Brittany's performance while most of the female fans were noticing Trent's drop in mood.

"What's up with him?" One girl asked.

"I don't know. You got this Trent!" Another girl yelled, followed by other girls cheering for him, causing him to feel a bit better.

 _"Cherry cherry boy, cherry cherry girl, you splash in the waves. On the white sandy beach with my embroidered sandals,"_

Nero, Marie, Emerald, and Crystal watched the popularity meters on the computers. Nero smiled smugly and looked at Marie.

"See? Look at how popular Brittany is compared to Trent, I think she'll get in just fine." Nero chirped and it did everything in the girls power not to kick his ass.

"Jeez, what am I even doing right now?" Iris thought, feeling the skirt chaffing her.

Trent watched Brittany, she was incredible. He actually began to feel guilty with this plan.  
 _  
"The crashing waves carry the summer. If it's a barefoot love it can go anywhere. It's something I longed for, at seventeen."_ Brittany sang.

Willow was smacked into a wall while the team kept trying to go at his neck. However he lifted a large piece of debris and smacked them away.

Sprx coughed and sighed at the cheery music playing not too far away.

"Now really isn't the time for bubble gum pop music." He huffed under his breath before getting back up and continuing to fight.

During the interlude, the lights began to go into all sorts of colors as the four danced. Brittany brushed by Trent.

"You ready?" She whispered.

"A-are you sure this is ok? I mean I thought you wanted this much popularity." Trent asked.

Brittany stared at him intensity

"This is your song, not mine. You have as much of a right to sing it as I do. And if you can't make it in because of asses like Nero, then I don't want to be selected." She said.

Trent blinked before looking out to the crowd and sighed. The lights quickly turned to a black and red strobe, causing the two to disrobe quickly. Iris looked at them with a very disturbed look until she realized they were wearing different costumes underneath.

Nero sat back, enjoying what the stats were giving him.

The lights went back to normal and Trent was wearing what Brittany wore before and was right up front.

Everyone in the audience had multiple reactions, with the girls being the loudest. Nero nearly fell out his chair as Emerald and Crystal cheered.

"What the hell is that idiot doing?!" He demanded, about to cut the power when Marie grabbed his hand.

"Wait! Watch the audience and watch how Trent holds up..." Marie huffed as the two kept watching the stage.

 _"As I rested my head against your t-shirt your heartbeat reflected,"_ Trent began.

 _"That of the sea!"_ He sang, his confidence shining brighter than the lights above him.

And at that moment his small fan base exploded in size. This boy was just too damn cute. While most of the other fans weren't a huge fan of the change , they still couldn't help but enjoy what was going on.

"Trenty!" Marina squealed as Yui scoffed.

"So that was her plan, just a simple switching? That's so cliche."

 _"Cherry cherry boy, cherry cherry girl, I run past you."_ Trent sang, strolling one side of the stage.

"See? They love it." Marie chirped.

Nero grumbled a bit and looked at the stats. His eyes widened at how much positive female reception they were getting.

"B-but I don't understand-that damn little red head was right!" Nero finally groaned.

Iris scoffed a bit as Violet just smiled. It felt like how Arey got in.

 _"Cherry cherry boy cherry cherry girl, come chase after me!"_ Trent sang.

Emerald sniffled a bit, so happy for her nephew. Bubbles started to fill the area as the song's end came.

 _"Cherry cherry boy cherry cherry girl, you run past me. Cherry cherry boy cherry cherry girl, splashing in the waves."_

The song ended and the crowd erupted in cheers. Niro grumbled a bit, then something clicked.

"Did...did he use his aura on the crowd?" He asked Kala.

Kala typed a bit before looking at her screen.

"Um...nope. No he didn't." She said.

Nero's eyes widened as he watched Trent being embraced by his friends.

"He...he won over the crowd without using his aura?" He questioned as Emerald got up.

"What? He doesn't even have one, didn't you know that?" She asked before going over to her nephew.

Niro sat there, thinking all of this over. No aura, and no Sueronian persona he created? It was all just him?

Niro watched as Emerald hugged him.

"Huh...well played."

* * *

Sage blasted a beam of energy at Willow as she dodged it, firing back at him.

This was getting ridiculous, no matter how hard the team tried to go at him he was just too fast! Some of the buildings were starting to get wrecked because of the damages brought on by Sage, and the upbeat pop music wasn't helping.

"Come on! Is this really the best Willow Clint can do?" Sage taunted as Willow quickly got up.

"Sage you need to take off one of those power sources. You're hurting yourself." Willow demanded.

Sage looked at his arms, the purple veins pulsing intensely. He kept ignoring the growing pain that was flowing through him.

"Strange...I don't feel a lick of pain!" He laughed before throwing another electric fireball at her.

She tried to dodge it but her foot got hit, causing her to fall to the ground. Antauri growled as the team caught up with him.

Willow groaned and held her foot, feeling intense pain. Sage walked over to her, the fire and electricity dancing wildly in his hand.

"So I guess this is how the amazing Willow ends, destroyed by the image of her best friend!" Sage laughed but before he could let her have it, Antauri jumped on his back.

"Hey!" Sage growled, trying to get him off.

"You...leave...her...alone!" Antauri yelled, trying to get to the crystal off of him.

"Antauri!" Willow exclaimed.

Antauri grabbed the string where the crystal was. Something then wrapped around his waist and pulled him away. It was a black dragon tail that Sage now had as he grabbed Antauri by the scruff of his neck. He panted, pissed. He then smiled through his teeth.

"You're a bit too slow there, buddy." He said before punching him in the stomach.

"Antauri!" Willow yelled as the team tried to get to him, but a wall of white fire blocked their way. Sage sneered as he held Antauri up.

"You know Antauri? I don't get your attraction to this girl at all, I mean come on! Half of her species is a bunch of imperialistic and annoying bitches. She is temperamental, violent, and annoying as hell! Why would you feel any sort of positive feeling in the first place? Oh yeah! Her aura did all the work!" Trent huffed.

Willow felt like someone punched her in the stomach.

"Y-you're wro-!" Antauri began before he was thrown to a wall, his systems shutting off.

"Antauri!" Everyone yelled.

Willow froze, watching Antauri fall to the ground. Her stomach felt cold as her hands shook.

"No..."

Otto ran over to him and held him up.

"Don't worry I got-!" A electric fire ball came at him as Otto dodged, holding onto Antauri.

"Nope! He's staying like that!" Sage huffed, about to go after him when he heard a dark growl.

Sage turned as Willow struggled to get up, a pitch black aura surrounding her body. She glared at him, her eyes as red as blood.

"How dare you hurt him!" She yelled her voice sounding distorted.

"Willy?!" Amanda called out, worried.

The team fearfully looked on as black scales grew on Willow's arms and legs and large black wings grew from her back. Her teeth sharpened as she snarled. Everyone, minus Sage, backed up.

"You will pay for your actions and words!"

Sage blinked. So this was her when she loses control, how very interesting. It was also too hilarious.

"It's not like I was lying or anything." He said.

Willow growled and breathed fire at him.

"Willow you need to calm down!" Chiro yelled.

"You don't tell me what to do!" Willow growled as she went after Sage, burning whatever was in her way. Before anyone could do anything, Willow tried to blast Sage down, but a building collapsed and fell instead.

Everyone turned to each other as Otto reactivated Antauri. She's lost control.

* * *

Oh shit this ain't good. See you in the next update and thanks for reading!

watch?v=d1xsNHee-wY


	37. Chapter 37

Okay here's the last huge fight! I hope you're ready, cause it's gonna be...well...just read. "About Hope","Dreams are reborn over and over", and "Let's promise" all belong to AKB48.

* * *

Around that time the stage lit up with bright white lights as the others walked out. The next three songs would be the last of the night before the selection ceremony.  
Iris looked over at the Gary Stus, who were getting word of Sage still attacking the city and need to be on guard. She wanted to be with them, she wanted to fight so bad. Then she looked into the crowd and found her mother's face. Iris then realized why she couldn't join the Gary Stu corps, her mother wouldn't allow it.

Her mother mouthed to do her best, though really she just wanted her to get in. Iris sighed and looked to her friends. Even if she had a mother like that, Yui and her friends would never be like that. The song began as the Gary Stus were forced to guard all perimeters of the concert.

 _"The stars that shine in the night sky, lie billions of years away."_ Brittany and Trent sang, circling around Yui.  
 _  
"Even if the depths of despair, should cast an endless shadow."_ The white lights turned into a shifting rainbow.

 _"The truth will make itself heard, who shall be the one to receive,"_ Iris and Yui sang, standing back to back of each other.

Marie leaned forward, noticing the change in atmosphere. It was almost reminiscent of how Starlights were before she and the others joined. It was almost like time had completely stopped and she was just breathless.

"These guys..." Emerald breathed.

 _"the message of light set adrift over the river of time?"_

 _"People are born and die, our bodies don't last forever."_ Marina and Skyla sang, walking past each other.

 _"Those who rose back up from the ashes, give passion,"_ Violet and a Sueronian with dark brown hair and red streaks and the Sueronian with white hair began.

 _"To the next generation!"_ Trent and Brittany finished.

 _"Dreams are like reincarnation like déjà vu, my distant memories keep coming back."_ Everyone was in such good synch with each other and played off each other so well.

Crystal giggled a bit.

"They looked just like we did when we were auditioning." She pointed out.

Emerald sighed.

"Yeah only no one here has thrown up like I did." She sighed.

"And that's how you became captain, you threw up." Crystal laughed, earning a playful shove from Emerald.

Marie smiled as Niro looked at the computer, no doubt impressed by the performance.

"They have such good chemistry...almost as if they shine better when they perform together..." He admitted, already selecting his choice members in his head.

The song continued everyone enjoying themselves.

 _"Will enough tears make me give up? Will enough love make my dream come true?"_

Suddenly everyone felt the building that Willow blasted crumble, sending shock waves through the area. The staff held onto each other before an alert showed up on the computer screen.  
The others were on the ground, with Yui shielding Marina.

"Is everyone ok?" She asked as she received nods from the others.

"Everyone, one of the Hyperforce members has lost control and is now wreaking havoc." Marie said over their communicators.

"What?!"

Trent looked to a huge amount of smoke that was rising from not too far away.

"It's Willow!" He exclaimed as everyone turned to him.

"We're going to get the Gary Stus out there to help-"

"We can't! They might hurt Willow!" Brittany argued.

Yui smiled.

"Marie, let us handle defense."

"Huh?!"

"The Starlights always protected their fans when needed to, and Brittany and Trent's friends needs our help. Use our understudies and we'll take care of everything." Yui proposed.

Marie was silent for a moment.

"You have my permission, make sure they don't come near the park!"

Yui nodded and turned to Skyla.

"You need to stay here and lead the understudies." She said.

"M-me?" Skyla asked, making sure she heard her right.

Yui nodded and placed her hands on her shoulders.

"The concert needs to continue and they'll need you to guide them. Besides, you said you wanted to be captain right?" She asked with a smirk.

Skyla's eyes brightened and she nodded.

"Of course!"

"I'm turning on the flying platforms so you'll get there quicker." Marie's voice came over the communicators.

Everyone, minus Skyla, rushed to the main part of the stage as pieces of the stage they were standing on broke off and lifted into the air.

 _"Will enough farewells make me turn my back? Will enough experiences bring us together?"_ The group sang as the left for the battle.

The understudies rushed out as Skyla smiled.

"Damn, I have some completion for the captain position. Everyone! Let's make this concert the best it's ever been!"

"Skyla..."

"But don't forget, we're Starlights! We don't just perform, we're there for our fans!"

Everyone smiled and grabbed their mics.

 _"It's my generation!"_

As Sage tried to fire at Willow but was caught off guard when he felt a bolt of electricity hit him.

He turned to the others, ready to kick his ass.

"Trent! Brit!" Amanda gasped, smiling.

Brittany turned to Chiro.

"Go after Willow, we'll distract him." She said.

The Hyperforce nodded and turned to Willow, who was ready to burn down everything.

"Team! Let's do this!" Chiro yelled as the team went after her.  
 _  
"Dreams are like reincarnation, like déjà vu,"_ Trent sang, creating a large lightning bolt and going after Sage.

"Is he singing while fighting?" Sage thought as he tried to get him away.

Yui smirked and kicked him out from under his feet but he felt a blast of energy hit her and she fell to her side. Skelemandarin shook a bit as he got up.

"Oh no! I'm not loosing this!" He growled before attempting to go after them. Iris however kicked him away before he could do anything else.

"Yui?"

Yui got up and rubbed her arm.

"I'm fine, it's just a scratch." She said.

Sage growled and created two electricity fire balls.

"Oh it's on now!"

Willow tried to blast them away, but everyone kept dodging.

"Let me through! Or I'll rip your hearts out!" Willow growled.

Antauri's heart aches when he saw her, he knew she didn't want this to happen. Now it was happening anyway.

Arwen turned to the others.

"We need to calm her down before she really fully turns into her dragon form. If she does, the city might as well turn into a barbecue." She advised.

Nova nodded.

"Willow you need to calm down!"

"Why should I?! That bastard hurt Antauri!"

Antauri went up to her.

"Willow I am fine now, Otto reactivated me." He said.

Willow glared.

"That doesn't take the things he said back, like how my species is full of imperialistic annoying bitches and how I am too temperamental?! He must die!"

Antauri went up to her even more.

"Don't get too close! You'll burn!" Gibson yelled.

However, Antauri ignored him.

"I know what he said, but you have to realize the things he said was to hurt you! Yes, you may have a temper, but we don't mind!"

"Yeah I mean look at me and Mandarin." Nova pointed out.

Willow growled as more black scales began to cover her.

"That's right, Willow, your flaws just make you, you!" Amanda yelled.

"Oh yeah?! What about that aura?! I bet if I didn't have it, none of you would be even speaking to me! You might have just left me in that cell." Willow growled.

Everyone looked at each other.

"Willow, we've already said we'd be your friend no matter what!" Jinmay said.

"Lies!" Willow hissed, backing up.

Antauri stepped closer to her.

"Willow this morning, remember when I wanted to tell you something about your aura but I decided to leave it be?" Antauri asked.

Willow growled, ready to slash him away.

"Well when Brittany's mother came to us she said something I think will make you happy."

Willow raised an eyebrow as Antauri was right in front of her. Willow wanted to hurt him, but a part of him just couldn't do it.

"She said you got some control over your aura ever since last year, so we became friends with you somewhat on our own accord."

Willow froze after he said this. Did she just hear him right?

"W-what?"

Antauri smiled and held her claw like hands. They felt cold and rough, which made him felt a bit scared. Yet he looked into her eyes.

"You do have control of your aura Willow, some of it at least. This is why we said that no matter what, we'd still be your friends. It's even more adamant now than ever." He said.

Willow looked towards the others. She saw the kindness in their faces and felt her own anger dissipating. Antauri held her hands tighter.

"This also means you can have more control over it if we help you, that is if you let us." Antauri said.

Willow's lower lip trembled.

"But Antauri...look at me, who'd want to help someone like me? Someone who is half Sueronian and can turn into this?" She motioned herself.

"Just who'd want to help or like someone like me?"

Antauri smiled and floated up to her.

"You have no idea how much you matter. Even if you can turn into this or even if you have a bad temper, people still care about you despite that. Even if you don't seem to see it at times." He said before cupping her face.

"Just know that no matter what happens Willow, we'll always be there for you. We love you...I love you." He said softly before pressing his lips against hers.

At that moment all of Willow's black scales melted away, her teeth returned to normal, and her wings disappeared. She froze for a minute before kissing back, smiling. A sudden rush of energy took over the two. Willow pulled back.

"I love you too."

And everyone in a hundred mile radius all collectively thought, "Finally!"

Then Trent and the others were flung to the group, Sage right behind them.

"Okay! Now that I'm done with these few pests, it's time to really finish the job!" Sage huffed.

Willow and the others rushed over to Brittany and Trent.

"Hey Willow, we distracted him for you." Trent coughed.

Suddenly dark figures came from the ground around Sage.

"Also guess who can make minions now!?"

Yui pointed at them.

"He surprised us with minions." She huffed as they all got up.

Sage smirked.

"Even Sueronians can't seem to bring me down! That's actually kind of hilarious." Sage snickered as his minions stepped closer.

"So I guess this is it for you Willow, any last words before these guys rip you limb from limb?"

Willow growled but noticed her necklace was glowing a bit. She held it a bit as Arwen too noticed it's glow. Arwen looked to the others and noticed the determination on their faces and looked back at Willow. The power from everyone's determination and power primate were reacting with Willow's necklace!

"Willow I think you might want to use your necklace right now."

"What?"

"Just do it!"

Willow looked back down at her necklace, which was now surging with power from everyone. The minions and Sage began to trudge forward.

"Guys, place your hands on my necklace right now!"

Everyone looked at her, confused.

"Why?"

Arwen groaned.

"Trust the dang necklace and do it!" She huffed, placing a hand on it.

The team looked at each other before doing the same. A sudden bright light and a surge of power overcame everyone and stopped Sage, shielding his eyes before the light dimmed. A pure white aura came from the group as Willows appearance has changed. Her black and red streaked hair was longer and she wore a long white dress with the neckline dropping around her shoulders and the hem was open to reveal a skirt in the front.

The Sueronians looked at each other and smiled.

"She just unlocked her ultimate power in her jewel." Yui said, impressed.

Sage backed up a bit, overwhelmed by the amount of power they seem to hold now. However he shook his head and morphed black energy in his hands. He turned to his minions.

"Well what are you waiting for? Fight them!"

Willow and the others looked at each other and smiled. Trent looked at Willow.

"We'll take on the minions, you guys take on Sage." He said as Arwen joined him.

Willow blinked but nodded.

"Hyperforce-!" Chiro began.

"Go!" Everyone yelled as the second to last song began to play.

Sage charged at them as the team began to break formation.

"No matter what happens," Willow thought.

"We always have each other." Antauri thought as the two went back to back.

 _"Even if you reach out your hand."_ The two began.

 _"It won't reach,"_ Antauri sang with Willow repeating.

 _"It won't reach our dreams yet."_ They sang as they blasted Trent with a mix of Power Primate and Sueronian energy.

Sage fell back as he powered up his dark magic.

 _"Our dreams still lie,"_ Sprx and Chiro sang.

Sage then attempted to blast the group with his dark magic.

 _"Much, much further in the distance._ " The team created a large white shield to stop the dark magic from hitting.

Marie looked over at the screens that showed what was happening.

"I...guys you need to see this!"

The staff quickly went over as Niro wanted to keep watching the actual concert. He looked down at a few buttons and pressed them, presenting them on the huge screen on the stage.

 _"Even the stars of the sky,"_ everyone else sang while Marina used her wand to unleash a long electrifying pink ribbon.

"We'll make you fall in love with us yet!" She chirped as the minion turned to dust as the pink ribbon wrapped around it.

 _"Are billions of light years away,"_

Violet used the flying platforms to ram into several before jumping off and kicking one.

Iris used a sword she carried to slice and cut down many minions. She turned to Brittany slicing down minions, but didn't notice the one behind her. Iris sliced it down before it could hurt her.

 _"Shining beyond the shadows."_

Sage used his fire electricity balls and attempted to hit Willow and the others, but he was hit by Brittany's powered up ice shards. He quickly got back up and attempted to attack again. Just what was happening?! They were so powerless compared to him before but now?! It was like all of them was sharing the exact same energy!

 _"Let me speak of hope, like a nameless poet with passion."_

And they were all singing! How in all that's holy did they know this song?!

 _"If you find yourself broken down in tears, rather than consoling you,"_

Sage growled as he dodged each attack that was thrown at him before unleashing a huge amount of dark energy at Willow and Antauri. They created the large white shield but it was beginning to break down. Everyone turned and used their energy to keep the shield in tact.

 _"let me speak of the coming dawn."_

Antauri and Willow turned to each other. The team has never been in this much good shape before, nor have they felt this amazing. Was it because of the necklace? Or was it because of their relationships between each other? Sage limped a bit, the injuries of the battle starting to get to him. Arwen grinned.

"Team we need to weaken him and get the choker away from him among all else!"

Everyone agreed.

Gibson looked off and noticed a large amount of minions sneaking through the alleyways.

"Chiro! The minions are heading for the park!" He exclaimed.

"Are you serious?!"

Willow looked over and before anyone could do anything, lasers shot down at them. Somehow the Brain Scrambler was flying over where the minions were gathered and shooting them down.

"Who is flying the Brain scrambler?" Antauri asked.

Willow blinked before realizing.

"Mandarin!"

Back at the robot, Tilamat was typing quickly on his laptop while Mandarin looked over his shoulder.

"And the award for most insane while in labor goes to-!"

"Tilamat just because I'm in labor doesn't mean I can't help!" Mandarin huffed.

Tilamat rolled his eyes.

"Also get them down there! They can't escape!"

"Yes mother."

Chiro smiled.

"Looks like Mandarin has that covered, now team let's finish this with our combined power!"

The team grouped together.

 _"Let us speak, speak of hope."_

Now the staff and many of the members watched the show in awe. Not only that but the audience and the singers were watching too. They were amazing by how radiant and powerful the team was.

"Their aura..they way they fight...the way they perform..." Marie breathed.

"They're just like the first generation Starlights!" Emerald gasped.

 _"Like a nameless poet."_

The team began to charge a huge combination of power as Sage began to attack again. He felt electrician sparks on his back as Trent tried to stop him.

 _"If you ever doubt yourself just keep, walking without hesitation."_ Everyone sang with power and intensity.

Sage began to charge up his final attack, feeling so much frustration and hatred.

"I won't lose to any of you! Not for a single second!" He screamed.

 _"Let us speak of hope, like a nameless warrior, someday,"_

He blasted a huge amount of combined fire, electricity, and dark magic at them, causing the Sueronians behind him to fall back. However it was completely useless as the team's combined power primate and magic charged past it and headed right for Sage.

 _"We'll live for our dreams."_ Everyone finished.

From the sheer force of the energy, Sage was blasted into a wall. That energy caused all of the minions to disappear too.

It was silent before the audience began cheering. Willow sighed happily as the team turned to each other, smiling. Sage fell to the ground in agony. Willow walked over to him and took the choker away from his neck. Sage's body began to turn back to normal.

"So...where are you keeping Diamanda?" She asked.

Sage weakly lifted his head.

"I'd rather die than tell you." He growled.

Willow was about to ask again but she dodged a blast of energy. Everyone turned to Skelemandarin holding himself up by the wall next to him, also weak.

"You...little...idiot!" He growled at Sage, going over to him.

Sage didn't look at him as Skelemandarin held him up by one arm, with the other he held up his morphed gun.

"So! I guess it's that time again!"

Willow growled and began to after him when Chiro held her by the shoulder. Skelemandarin and Sage backed up, a huge white aircraft suddenly appearing.

"Mandy...no...we need to win!" Sage whined.

"Now you understand my pain, but for now we need to leave again. It looks like we have a lot more training." Skelemandarin said, glaring at the team.

Sage was about to argue but he felt too weak.

"I'm sorry about earlier."

"Next time don't go into a power rage and fight your creator! You're lucky I'm so forgiving!" Skelemandarin huffed.

"Oh no you don't-!" Willow growled but Chiro stopped her again.

"Willow wait!"

Willow turned to him.

"But-!"

"For now Willow, let them go. We'll get them again." Antauri said.

Willow stared at him but sighed.

Antauri turned to Skelemandarin as the two hopped into the ship.

"I do hope you reconsider your choice, Mandarin. The Alchemist said you could have been so much more." He pleaded.

Skelemandarin turned to him, letting the words sink in.

"I'm already so much more." He grinned before the hatch shut and they blasted off.

The team watched as they went away, knowing that the battle wasn't over yet.

Willow felt Brittany hug her.

"That was amazing you guys!" Yui exclaimed as the Sueronians rushed over to them.

"Yeah you guys were amazing! I've never seen a Sueronian use the ultimate power in her jewel before and have her friends share the power too!" Iris gushed.

Amanda blushed and scratched her chin.

"T-thanks."

Willow snickered at her sister.

"That did feel...amazing." Sprx breathed.

"Yeah, like we were all fighting as one." Jinmay agreed.

Willow looked down at her necklace and held it up.

"Dad..."

Arwen placed a hand on Willow's shoulder.

Suddenly the Sueronians communicators went off.

"Everyone! That was probably the most amazing performance I've seen! Get back to the ship and get ready for the selection ceremony." Marie's voice commanded.

"Right away!" Yui said and everyone began to go onto the flying platforms.

Trent and Brittany stopped before turning to the others. Trent ran up to Willow and hugged her tightly.

"Good luck." Willow muttered as Trent let go.

Trent nodded as Brittany went past him.

The two were silent for a bit.

"Go good luck to you too." Willow finally said.

Brittany nodded.

"It's amazing, a year ago we hated each other over something that you couldn't control." She said.

"Yeah but now we're friends." Willow said.

Brittany nodded.

"Come on!" Yui called.

Brittany and Trent turned.

"We gotta go." Brittany said before the two went to their flying platforms and got on them.

 _" 'Life is nothing but goodbyes' someone once said those words,"_ the Sueronians began, finishing off the concert.

They all looked at each other and held hands.

 _"But if that's all there is, then why did we meet to begin with?"_

The raised their arms up as they went back to the park. All of the auditionees entered into the stage as the group came back.

"You got the numbers counted?" Niro asked.

Marie nodded, smiling.

"And I got the names ready too. Get the stage set after this song!" Marie ordered.

 _"All people are travelers who meet and part, in a never ending cycle. Each time they gain, memories and new guiding lights. "_

Nova bear hugged Sprx.

"That was amazing!"

Sprx snickered and kissed her.

Willow groaned as she looked down at her burned foot.

"Let's get that checked out." Arwen said.

"Yeah, can we cut my hair too? Please?" Willow huffed before Antauri floated next to her.

"I wouldn't mind either way, you've always had lovely hair." He said.

Willow covered her red face.

"Stop!" She squeaked.

 _"Come on, don't you look at me with those tearful eyes. Let me see your smile!"_

Chiro turned to the robot, seeing the brain scrambler head back for the robot.

"Let's go home team." He said.

"Right!" Everyone said as they began to walk home, with Arwen carrying Willow.

Skyla and Yui waved to the audience before noticing something on the large screen.

'The Captain and co captain position has been decided!'

Skyla blinked.

"Co-captain?!" She exclaimed.

Yui rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, you can't handle a big team by yourself can you?" She huffed.

Skyla blinked but nodded.

"Y-yeah."

 _"Someday, somewhere out there, believe in the power of fate to bring us together."_

Yui grabbed her hand.

"So, good luck."

Skyla nodded, knowing that even if she doesn't become captain, Yui will make a amazing captain too. However, she better get co captain because she deserves that too.

 _"I know that I'll see you again, so until that day,"_

Everyone backed up into one huge line as the curtain began to fall.

Trent and Brittany waved.

 _"Don't you forget me, it's a promise!"_

The curtain fell as the music faded away, and cheers erupted from the crowd.

* * *

I love writing scenes like upgraded team vs Sage. That was just too amazing help. Thanks for reading!

watch?v=DWXPSc0nPv0

watch?v=hEWsLLijHc8

I can't find the link to "Let's Promise" Sorry, I'll come back and put a link in when I find it.


	38. Chapter 38

Welcome back, now we're onto the audition choosing ceremony! Strap yourself in because feels may or may not happen. Idk. Please enjoy!

* * *

The robot grew closer and closer as the team made it back. Willow then noticed a few smaller ships next to it.

"Uh guys? What ships are those?" She asked.

The team looked at the ship and noticed the insignia. It had a large dark purple planet with two large stars seeming to glide across it.

"Those are Tabithian ships...but why are they-?"

The team then froze and looked at each other. Oh no.

The team then darted into the robot and saw three large white tents with a few female Tabithians talking to each other. The tents were all connected by hallways and were set up in a triangle like structure.

The team then bursted into one of the tents, which resembled a hospital room. Mandarin sat up in the bed with Tilamat next to him.

"And I have no idea why they wanted to trademark the word but it's so stupid-!" Mandarin was saying before he noticed the concerned group.

"Oh hey!" He said as Tilamat quickly got up.

"Mandarin are you-!"

"You guys kicked ass!" Tilamat said, punching Chiro's shoulder.

Chiro rubbed his shoulder.

"Uh yeah thanks, Mandarin!" Chiro quickly said.

Mandarin waved a bit.

"Yes child I'm right here."

"Are-are you- is it happening?!" Nova asked.

Mandarin smirked.

"Gee I wonder why there's these tents and nurses everywhere?" He sarcastically asked, looking around.

Otto darted towards him.

"Are you ok? Are you in pain?" Otto asked, holding his pain.

"Yes but it's nothing I haven't dealt with before."

Willow snickered, hoo boy was this guy in for a treat then. Otto nuzzled him, his anxiety exhausting him.

Arwen looked to Tilamat.

"Is there another bed by any chance? Willow burned her foot." She explained.

Tilamat nodded.

"Sure thing, Mira! Get another bed!" He called out.

"Yes doctor!"

"How long have you been in labor for?" Jinmay asked as a bed was pushed in.

"Ever since you left." Mandarin said.

"Jeeeez! I can't imagine what you're going through right now." Sprx sighed.

Mandarin tilted his head.

"You know there is a machine out there that simulates labor pains." He pointed out.

"I was just saying!"

Willow was set on the bed and had her boot taken off. The burn looked pretty bad.

"Jeez! I know you got hit but damn!" Tilamat groaned.

"Thanks, it was such a walk in the park. That is if I can walk right now." Willow huffed.

She then winced as wet towels were placed on it. It stung pretty bad.

"So how long do we have to wait?" Sprx asked Tilamat.

Tilamat looked over at a machine nearby.

"Umm that's gonna depend, but hopefully before the forty eight hour mark." Tilamat said.

Mandarin turned to the others.

"Otherwise she's going to eat right through me." He said with a shit eating grin.

Everyone froze.

"You...you can't be serious." Amanda asked, feeling sick.

Tilamat shrugged.

"It's rare nowadays but it has happened."

They searched the two's faces just in case they were pulling some sick trick on them, but their expressions showed that they were completely serious. Suddenly the idea of this baby being an alien was finally starting to sink in.

"Jeez that's terrifying." Nova wheezed.

"Yeah how do you think I felt when I was told that?!" Mandarin huffed before grimacing in pain.

"Lazuli please for the love of all that's holy don't eat out of your mama." Chiro begged, looking at Mandarin's stomach.

"I won't let her!"

Tilamat sighed.

"I've let the Ama family know and they'll be here tomorrow morning. Hopefully it won't be right in the middle of surgery." He said.

Otto gulped a bit before turning to Mandarin.

"You're gonna be ok?" He asked.

Mandarin sighed.

"Otto I've been through worse, I'll be fine." He said.

Otto kissed him and nuzzled him.

"You better, you butt."

Willow smiled a bit before realizing that Antauri sat next to her.

"So what do we do now?" She asked him.

Antauri tilted his head, thinking.

"Well we're going to the tomb to find Diamanda, and then we'll have to track the ship Sage and Mandarin 2 were on-"

"No I know that, I meant with us." She huffed.

Antauri blinked before realizing.

"Oh! Well..." He turned to the others, where Mandarin growled at Sprx when he suggested to do those breathing exercises.

"I guess we start with a few dates...umm...what else do couples do?" Antauri asked.

Willow snickered.

"Don't worry, we'll figure it out." Willow said, holding his hand.

Antauri nodded and held her hand back.

Chiro turned to Sprx, Nova, and Amanda.

"Let's go find Diamanda and bring her back here." He said.

The three nodded as they left the room.

"We'll be back!" Amanda chirped.

Mandarin sighed before grimacing again, a contraction hitting him hard.

"This is going to be fun." He huffed.

Gibson turned to the TV screen that was placed in the room.

"Is there any way we can watch the selection ceremony?" Arwen asked.

"Yes just let me get it to the right station." Gibson said as Otto hopped off the bed to go help him.

They turned it to a Sueronian station, where a commercial on fake blood tears was on.

"When is it supposed to start?" Jinmay asked.

"Probably in a half an hour so we got time."

Mandarin grumbled a bit before Otto hopped up next to him again.

"Don't worry cutie pie, I got you." Otto chirped.

Mandarin groaned a bit.

"You're going to be ok Mandarin." Gibson assured him.

A half hour later and Mandarin's pain worsened.

"I told you it's insufferable!" Willow huffed before Mandarin slowly looked at her.

"Hush." He growled before laying back.

Otto dabbed his forehead with a washcloth.

"I could give you epidurals Mandy." Tilamat chirped.

"Mmm...maybe." Mandarin sighed.

Jinmay smiled sadly before turning on the communicator.

"Chiro did you find her yet?" Jinmay asked.

"Not yet but we're getting close." Chiro said before Jinmay heard someone slip.

"Sprx! Be careful!" Nova huffed.

"Hey it's the formless gunk!"

Arwen shushed everyone as the program started.

 _"Starlights, for generations has been apart of Sueronian pop culture and is the most well known. However for years it has been disbanded by the 5th generation."_

Images of past Starlight members flew across the screen, including some of Arwen. The screen then turned white.

 _"Now a sixth generation will be created and sixteen members will be picked out of the fifty four entrees."_

Antauri felt the grip on his hand tighten as Willow watched on nervously.

 _"You've seen the audition concert, now watch as your favorite Sueronians go head to head for a chance to be picked! Who will be selected and who will be the new captains? It will all begin on Shuggazoom!"_

Nearly everyone in the room cheered, minus Mandarin, who groaned at the loud noise, and Willow. She gulped.

* * *

After the opening ceremony, Trent sat down next to Brittany and the others. The set was made so that the Sueronians would walk onto the stage from the grass.

Iris sat behind him and looked back to her mother, who was in front of the crowd. She turned and looked back at the top of the stage where Niro and Marie went to their places. Trent felt the stares of the fans behind him and he shivered. Skyla glanced at Yui before looking ahead. They then saw a Sueronian with a briefcase walk across the stage.

"We're about the announce the results." Niro announced.

"What's-?" Trent began.

"That's to prevent tampering." Violet muttered to him.

Marie took out the papers.

"I will now announce the captain and co captain positions." She announced.

Skyla closed her eyes. There was a drum roll before several spot lights lit up the small space.

"With over 533.21 points, your captain of Starlights,"

Skyla gripped her skirt, her nerves all jumbled up.

"5222, 5222..." She thought.

"is entry 4621, Yui Ebony!"

The spotlight shone on Yui as she covered her mouth. Trent and the others cheered loudly as she looked at Skyla.

"Skyla-"

"Congrats Yui." Skyla chirped sadly, patting her shoulder.

Tears welled up in her eyes before Yui got up and began walking towards the stage. Skyla sniffled and wiped her eyes. Marina turned to her.

"Oh Skyla, I-"

Skyla shook her head.

"No I'm fine it's just...she's going to make a great captain." She sniffled.

Marina blinked in surprise before looking back up on the stage. Yui shook a bit before sighing.

"I-I'm entry 4621, Yui Ebony. U-um I just can't believe I'm standing here. The reason I wanted to join Starlights was so I could help protect other Sueronians from hunters" she began, tears stinging her eyes.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel scared during the auditions, but I think I got through it thanks to the friends I made."

Iris smiled.

"Yui."

Yui sniffled a bit but kept going.

"So in return I didn't want them to feel the same fear I did, so I encouraged them and tried to help them the best I could. Just so we can create the safest and best performance we can."

Skyla smiled.

"Of course, and that's why you were picked. You care about everyone you came across and tried to encourage them. That's what I should have been doing." Skyla thought.

"To not only be picked and be elected captain is just so...so...amazing." Yui sobbed.

"Yui!" The crowd cheered.

Yui wiped her tears and stood straight.

"I promise! I won't let any of you down and I will lead the best Starlights anyone has ever seen! I will be just as good as Emerald, better even!" Yui declared, causing Emerald to laugh a bit.

Trent smiled as Yui sat down at the top of a stairwell with many chairs.

"That's amazing, but Brittany..." Trent looked at Brittany's worried face.

The cheers died down.

"Next, your co-captain!"

Everyone tensed up as the drum roll ran again.

"With over 521.53 points, your co captain,"

Trent gulped.

"I hate the intensity of this..." He thought.

"Entry 5222 Skyla Lillian Ruby Trina!"

Skyla jumped up from her seat and gasped.

"Skyla!" Marina cheered as she made her way up the stairs.

"That's my baby!" Crystal yelled from the audience.

"Crystal calm down!" Emerald yelled.

"Everyone, thank you so much! I did it!" Skyla yelled with much energy.

"Skyla calm down!" Iris huffed.

"The member I want to be the most is Kiara from the 3rd generation!"

Trent blinked.

"Umm why did she say that?" He asked.

"It's tradition for a newly selected Starlight members to say what members they want to be like." Violet explained.

Brittany looked at her. She completely forgot about that detail!

"Who they want to be like?"

"Yeah, I want to say I'm gonna be like my mom!" Marina chirped.

Trent groaned.

"Crap I didn't think of that!" He whined.

Brittany's throat went dry. The member she wants to be like? But the only person she could think of is her mother, and even then could she even live up to her mother's legacy?

After the next few member announcements, they were counting backwards and was now at number eight. The points then began to vary depending on how much popularity they got from the aura count.

Trent looked around nervously, this wasn't looking so good. If he wasn't going to be selected then...

"The next member has a total count of 423.12 points, entry 1233 Violet Mendelev Pearl Suzuko!"

Violet smiled as she got up from her seat. Marina clapped for her as she went up.

"Entry 1233, Violet Suzuko." She introduced herself.

She stared into the audience and found her parents and she swallowed the growing lump in her throat.

"U-Um the reason I joined Starlights was to continue what my late older sister Aquamarine Jewel Suzuko started by becoming a singer." She began.

Arwen looked down, remembering Aqua's death.

"Like me, she was picked at the eighth mark. She had more points than I did..." Violet tried to say before stopping herself, tears filling her eyes.

She sniffled but kept going. She remembered a girl with dark blue hair and blue eyes as she looked around the stage, trying to hold back tears. Violet choked back a sob.

"I was watching in the audience that day, she was biting tears as she expressed her thanks. I was so happy that she got in Starlights and became as happy as she did." Violet choked.

"Even after Starlights disbanded and even after her being captured by the hunters, she was still loved by so many fans."

Trent placed a hand on his mouth, just overall surprised by what she was saying and the amount of emotion she had.

"When auditions were taking place again, I wanted to join Starlights just so I can continue what she started and give back to the people that made Aqua so happy!"

Tears were now falling fast from Violet's face, but she was still smiling.

"I know there must be many fans of hers crying, but next time I want them to be tears of happiness not sorrow. I want the same amount of happiness that she had and it's an honor to be on the same band as her. Everyone thank you!"

Cheers erupted loudly as Iris was frozen.

"I didn't expect her to be so emotional." She muttered.

Marina turned to her.

"You should've seen her when she passed the first auditions." She chirped.

Trent wiped his eyes a bit. That took a lot more guts than he ever could, that's for sure. Brittany smiled but her smile soon dropped.

 _"If I say I want to be like my mother...and I don't live up to those expectations...what would everyone say to me? What if I can't live up to be like her? What would she say to me?"_ She thought.

Violet shakily sat down next to a girl with dark green hair and was decked out in a Greek white dress. Marie sighed, wiping her eyes.

"Okay, as beautiful as that was we need to keep going. Number seven!" She held up the envelope.

The spotlights danced around again and Marina groaned. Brittany leaned on Trent a bit.

"Uh Brit?"

"I don't know...I don't know what to say...what if I make a terrible Rosella?" She muttered, the stress getting to her.

"Br-Brittany?" Trent asked about to comfort her.

"With 764.12 points Entry 7221, Brittany Lobel Sapphire Sophia Rainbow Diamond!"

The spotlight shone on her and Brittany tensed up.

"Brittany! Hurry!" Marina cheered.

Her breathing became labored as she attempted to get up but nearly fell over.

"Brittany are you alright?" Marie asked as Brittany shakily walked up the stage.

"Rosella!" She heard the fans cheered, making her all the more nervous. It was if they were taunting her.

"I didn't expect Brittany to get so worked up." Skyla muttered.

"There have been members that get so worked up they start hyperventilating...but Brittany..." Violet muttered.

Brittany tried to gasp for breath but sheer fear kept her from doing so. Somehow she made to the microphone as Marie held her up.

"You think you're going to be ok dear?" She asked, receiving a nod.

"Alright, I'll be over there."

Brittany kept gasping, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Entry...7221...Brit-Brittany Diamond." She wheezed before her lips nearly hit the mic.

Everyone grew concerned. Brittany held herself up.

"I have to say something! I have to!" She thought.

Arwen crossed her arms.

"Just say what's on your mind, kiddo." She muttered, causing the others to look at her.

"I...I just...I want to-" Brittany began before looking into the audience.

Then a thought popped in her mind.

"I...the member I most want to be...I..." She then inhaled.

"I want to be me!"

Everyone grew silent at her statement.

"Brittany?" Trent asked.

"I...I think it's unfair to compare ourselves to the past generations. I want us to pave the way and create a new amazing Starlights, one where we can share our love with everyone." She stated.

Everyone was silent before cheering.

" 'I want to be me', jeez lady." Iris sighed.

"Everyone, thank you!"

Trent sniffled a bit as Brittany sat next to Violet.

"Brittany...always so direct and always much more radiant." He thought.

Arwen felt her pocket vibrate over the cheers and angry Mandarin yelling. She took out her phone and saw a text from Rose.

'My daughter is so precious! I'm so happy! :,D' It read.

Arwen smiled.

"Entry 1345 Artemis Desire Luna!"

The girl with white hair from before smiled.

"Everybody, thank you for supporting Artemis!" She chirped.

"Entry 3256 Rachel Mary Anne Clarity!"

The girl with brown hair and red streaks pointed out to the audience.

"I'm ready to meet all of you! I hope you won't mind someone like me!"

The next few entries were called until it was just the last two.

"I think it's safe to say none of our names will be called up." One Sueronian said to the other.

"Yeah but look at the lineup!"

Trent fidgeted, this wasn't looking so good. Marina stared into the distance, praying that her name will be called. Iris just looked back at her mother's worried face.

"With 720.23 points, entry number 5223 Marina Rebecca Rose Trina!"

Marina smiled as she got up, turned and curtsied the audience. Violet clapped as Skyla sobbed.

"That's my other baby!" Crystal yelled happily as Emerald tried to calm her down.

Marina skipped to the microphone and smiled.

"I'm Marina Trina, to everyone who supported with me thank you!" She chirped.

"With all the friends I've made during this and with all the fans I've seen, I'm seriously filled with gratitude. I'm happy that I get to be on the same band as my mom did and I hope to make men's hearts throb much more than she did." Marina stated.

She winked.

"I'll make you fall in love with me yet!"

Many male voices and one very happy mother yelled in joy.

Iris leaned over.

"Kill me, Trent. Kill me." She whined.

Trent snickered but his fear grew immensely. Only one position left. He gulped as he closed his eyes and shuddered. Marie took out the last paper.

"One more member left." She announced.

Willow looked at Trent on the screen.

The drum roll began as Trent shuddered and began sniffling. Iris leaned foreword when she noticed this.

"Trent."

He looked back at her as she smiled.

"Don't worry, we're here for you in case anything happens." She said.

Trent nodded slightly before looking back up, tears welling up. There was no way he was getting in now, there was just no way. They wanted an all female Starlights and they're gonna get one.

"Oh no he's crying!" Otto exclaimed.

"Come on Trent!" Emerald yelled.

Willow held her breath.

"With a count of an unbelievable 787.49 points."

Everyone gasped at the number.

"Your final member of Starlights is!"

The drum roll was like thunder as Trent shook. The silence was that of a tomb.

"Entry 7520 Trent Havier Loren!"

Trent sobbed into his hands as he got up. He turned to the ecstatic audience and threw his arms up in triumph. He wiped his eyes as he went to the stage.

The hospital room exploded in cheers as Mandarin was unable to complain about the noise. Willow teared up and smiled.

"Trent!"

Emerald wanted to get up from her seat and hug her nephew so much but she couldn't!

Trent made it to the mic, still crying. He took a deep breath before beginning his speech.

"I never thought...that I would see this wonderful scene." He sniffled.

"Trent!" One of his fangirls yelled.

" 'I want to join!' 'I want to sing'. I've said many things up until now. If I didn't make it, what would I say to everyone back home?" He tearfully said, causing everyone to laugh.

"I thought a lot but let me just express my thanks. To everyone who's supported me, thank you so much!" He said, receiving applause.

Trent sighed.

"I haven't had the chance to thank everyone else before today, but before the announcement Iris told me 'no matter what happens, we're here for you.' And everyone back home was giving me and Brittany many words of encouragement. Usually I'm too embarrassed to say this, but all of you are precious to me." He wept.

Willow teared up as she wiped her eyes. Brittany watched on with a smile and fresh tears.

"I still haven't sorted this out, but let me talk about the strange position I'm in. I've always had a odd presence with my group of friends, not knowing that I was half Sueronian until a few months ago, me turning evil at some point, and always kind of going with whatever my friends wanted to do. But when I heard about the auditions, I wanted to join because I love Starlights so much." Trent began.

"When I was younger, I wanted to be an archeologist like my dad, but I also mistakenly thought I'd be kind of cute for a pop band." Trent sniffled, causing everyone to laugh again.

"But when I saw so many other girls more popular and cute than me, it made me worried. But I just performed as me, knowing I'll never become like Rosella or Arey."

Arwen shook her head a bit, knowing what he said was pure bullshit.

"I'm too sensitive, I'm clueless, I let people walk over me, and I don't have a lot of good points..." He began when he heard yells of defiance.

"That's not true? Thank you for the forced reply!" He laughed, still crying a bit.

"Anyway but about my position, back then I felt that they'd just go for the token boy of the group and not have anyone like me for me. Then I kept thinking I will never be selected. That's at least what I felt. But now despite all of my doubts, I was able to get in because I was me!" He declared.

Niro sighed, that he did.

"So for those who are like me, whom the sun doesn't shine, I was able to get in! If they have a seventh generation auditions, there are many chances for you to re enter and try again! It wouldn't be a miracle, but if you take risks and try as hard as you can, at least that's what I think." He said to the upset Sueronians.

"Like the past members before us that gave me strength, I'm happiest if I can become your strength, thank you so much for today!"

Trent then thought for a second as everyone cheered again.

"Also is it ok if I do that thing my aunt always did?" Trent asked, taking the mic off the holder.

He smiled and sighed.

"Will you continue to support and love Starlights?!"

He turned his mic to the audience as they yelled, "We will!"

That felt great! He placed the microphone back on his holder and went to his seat.

Willow wiped her eyes as she watched him sit down.

"Trent you little butt!" Otto sobbed as Mandarin patted him.

"Otto settle down." Mandarin sighed before grimacing again.

Willow wiped her eyes, her cheeks red from crying.

"Trent looks so radiant...and yet so far away." Willow thought.

"Jinmay! We found Diamanda and we need to get her to the med bay." Chiro's voice announced.

"U-uh okay!" Jinmay said getting up.

Willow watched as she went, now concerned about Diamanda. She wanted to get up and go with her when Antauri raised a hand.

"You need to rest, we'll make sure she's alright."

Willow wanted to protest but she nodded.

"Alright..." She said as everyone left.

Mandarin groaned and grimaced, the pain growing.

"Don't worry Mandarin, it'll be over soon." Tilamat assured him.

"It better!"

Willow sighed as she watched them go back and forth. At least she can finally rest for a bit.

* * *

Iris looked down and then at her mom, knowing that they'd be going to another audition. It's been the same thing for her these past few months

Before anyone could do anything else, Niro took the mic.

"We also have another announcement." He said.

Everyone turned to him.

"We would also like to add two new Sueronians to the Gary Stu corps. For their bravery and strength."

Everyone let out a loud array of reactions. The Gary Stus looked on in pride, knowing who would join them. Iris looked around for a moment.

Niro took out a paper.

"We would like to welcome Miyuki Evergreen Amber and Iris Lilac Prim!"

A huge smile grew on Iris's face as she got up.

"Don't you do it Iris!" She heard a loud voice.

She turned to her mother as a girl with pink hair went up to the stage. Her mother glared at her.

"Don't you dare go up on that stage Iris! Just come with me and we'll find a much better band to join!"

Iris glared at her, turned, and walked to the stage. She ignored the yells of her mom as she got on stage.

Miyuki and Iris were given badges as proof of their new membership.

"Now say a few words." Niro said, handing Miyuki the mic.

Miyuki looked around.

"I-I just want to thank everyone and...Artemis what should I do?!" Miyuki asked, turning around.

Artemis laughed hard before urging her to go on.

"Umm thank you for letting me join...I...I just joined Starlights to fight I didn't know there were other options!"

"There were applications!"

"There were?!" She asked, causing everyone to laugh.

Iris snickered as she was handed the mic. The joy she felt overflowed her as she teared up.

"Entry 1287, Iris Prim. The Gary Stu corps...I just can't believe my luck. I feel like the most happiest girl in the universe. I wish I could bask in this happiness forever." She sniffled.

Iris's mother grumbled as she watched her. Then a man scooted next to her.

"I'm sorry dear, the bathroom was full." He huffed before looking at the stage.

"Is that Iris?" He asked.

Iris's mother licked her lips.

"Yep, and she's a part of the Gary Stu corps!" She huffed.

Iris's father was silent.

"Yes! I knew you could do it Iris!" He cheered.

Her mother rolled her eyes.

"That she did honey, that she did." She sighed.

Iris smiled before really thinking about what she wanted to say next.

"But! My next goal goes beyond this happiness!" She announced before pausing.

The crowd grew silent.

"Now that I'm not going to be singing, I have some competition in regards to combat." she looked right at the audience.

"My rivals in combat are the protectors of this planet! The Hyperforce! "

The team looked at each other in surprise. Did she just said what they thought she said? Mandarin's eyes widened a bit before he smirked and slowly clapped.

"Iris!" Yui snapped while Brittany nodded a bit.

Everyone turned to each other, no doubt confused. Their Hyperforce? She wants them to be her rivals? Iris gripped the mic tightly with determination.

"With the legacy they have in the galaxy, and the legacy they're continuing to have I want the Gary Stu corps to have that same legacy everywhere else. I want us to protect more people than they did, be stronger than they are, and I want to shine even brighter than they did tonight! The Gary Stus will never become big until there is someone who can overcome the Hyperforce." Iris stated.

The Gary Stu corps looked at each other and grinned. That does sound like a pretty good challenge. Iris shined with confidence and power as she kept talking.

"So please continue to support not only Starlights but us as well! I, Iris Prim, will challenge this life of ours!" Iris declared throwing a fist in the air.

Everyone cheered loudly at her speech.

Gibson snickered.

"That was certainly bold of her." He said.

Jinmay looked at him.

"But it must have been really inspiring to them." She said.

Willow rested her head back on the pillow.

"Man what was she trying to do? Making us her rivals." She huffed.

Antauri turned to her.

"I'm sure it wasn't out of malice, Willow, you saw how happy she was when she talked to us." He explained.

Willow blinked but nodded. That was true, she seemed to be more inspiring than malicious. Mandarin snickered, oh boy was tonight eventful.

Marie and Niro looked at each other, smiling. They never felt such pride and joy as they did now. Marie walked to the front of the stage as Miyuki and Iris embraced the Gary Stu corps.

"Everyone here is your line up for the sixth generation Starlights!"

The new Starlights stood up from their chairs as the audience cheered for them. Trent and Brittany looked at each other, grinning. The exhausting joy they felt was shared between them as they looked into the audience.

Willow clapped as the program ended soon after that.

Suddenly they heard Chiro and the others bringing in Diamanda to the med bay next door. Willow sat up as the others left the room.

"I'll be back cutie." Otto quickly said before kissing Mandarin and running off.

Mandarin watched as he went before sighing.

* * *

I will protect Trent forever and poor Mandy. Thanks for reading!


	39. Chapter 39

Hey welcome back! Well we keep getting closer to the end and I got to say, when I got past this part I was livid. I haven't finished a fic in such a long time or put it up online. I don't really finish some of the things I've started and now that I have, it's nuts. But I want to keep doing it and finish more fics. Please enjoy!

* * *

After the ceremony, the new Starlights were backstage celebrating. Yui and Skyla turned to each other and paused. Skyla then sobbed and hugged Yui tightly, muttering congratulations over and over again. Violet held Marina up bridal style as a photographer took a few photos of them. Brittany was talking to a few members before noticing Trent as a few unelected Sueronians went over to him. One sniffled as Trent pulled her into a hug.

"There's always the seventh generation auditions." He muttered.

Brittany smiled before continuing her conversation. That boy doesn't have a mean bone in his body. Other members started to go over to him and talk to him vividly, also comforting the unelected Sueronians. Of course that was until Emerald nearly tackled him to the ground. Yui watched as Marina clung to Skyla. She then felt someone brush against her arm.

"Hey captain." Iris joked.

Yui rolled her eyes.

"Don't you start calling me that too." She huffed, making Iris snickered.

The two were silent, watching everyone mingle.

"Making the Hyperforce your rivals, jeez." Yui huffed.

Iris snickered.

"I didn't mean anything spiteful by it. I was inspired by them tonight, not only in their performance it in their overall combat. They were amazing, and I want the Gary stu corps to achieve that same brilliance and teamwork." Iris explained, walking up a bit.

Yui nodded a bit.

"I want us to become rivals in the way of us motivating each other and encouraging each other. I never want it to be spiteful because I'm an actual fan of them." Iris continued as Brittany overheard this and looked over.

Iris looked at Brittany and walked over.

"So tell the Hyperforce this when you go home." She held onto Brittany's hands and smiled with determination.

"We won't be easy to beat."

Brittany was taken back by this but smiled.

"I'm sure they'll say the same." She said.

* * *

Diamanda, who was barely conscious, was set in the healing tank. She looked pale and her eyes were covered in dark spots.

The team followed Chiro and the others as Gibson began to overlook her vitals.

"She's a bit malnourished and has several injuries, but she'll be fine." He sighed.

Everyone sighed in relief at the news as they watched Diamana float in the liquid. Arwen turned to Chiro.

"Was she in one of the cells?" She asked.

Chiro nodded.

"Yeah, we thought she was unconscious but she was responsive." He said.

Arwen sighed and looked at her. That was good, the poor thing looked so pale. She pulled out her choker and smiled, knowing how happy she'll be once she has this again.

"Let's give her some rest, she's going to need it." Gibson finally said before leaving.

Everyone agreed and left, with Arwen looking at the tank one last time before the door closed.

When they got back into the room, Willow and Tilamat were laughing so hard they might throw up.

"What happened now?" Sprx asked.

She pointed at a pissed off Mandarin, who was glaring at his enlarged stomach.

"Don't talk back to me young lady! I demand you to stop moving!" He huffed before flinching.

"Lazuli you're not making this labor any easier."

Willow held her stomach.

"Oh man I'm gonna miss pregnant Mandarin!" She wheezed.

Sprx snickered.

"Same, it was kinda hilarious at some points." He thought, despite the drama that happened.

Mandarin glared at his stomach before Otto sat next to him. Otto leaned against him as Mandarin rested one hand on him. Even though the pain was growing more and more intolerable, at least Otto was here. He looked to the others.

"So I take it Diamanda is recovering?" He asked.

Gibson nodded as he sat down.

"She's going to need a lot of rest though, and plenty of nourishment when she wakes up." He said.

Mandarin nodded slightly, that sounded reasonable.

"So what happened with Trent and Brittany?" Amanda asked.

From the smiles on their faces, she gasped.

"They both got in?!" Chiro asked.

"Yep! Trent and Brittany are the newest members of Starlights!" Willow happily announced.

Amanda squealed and jumped.

"That's amazing! They must be so happy!" Nova said.

"Have you seen them?! They worked their butts off!" Otto said.

"It's loud..." Mandarin sighed.

"Well when they get back here we should all celebrate." Antauri suggested.

Everyone, minus a disgruntled Mandarin, agreed to it. Willow turned to him, giving him a small smile.

"Hey who knows? Maybe when we're done celebrating, your labor will be shorter than expected." She said.

That was four hours ago, it was now two am. As they continued celebrating, Mandarin was nearly doubled over in pain.

"Come out!" Mandarin groaned as he let out a low whine.

Otto dabbed his forehead.

"Don't worry Mandarin, it'll be over soon."

"That's what you said an hour ago!" Mandarin snapped before wheezing.

Otto flinched a bit before kissing his cheek. The contraction subsided and Mandarin sighed. Willow and Trent nibbled on their pizzas as they watched. It was like watching a cheesy family sitcom or something.

"So how long have you been at this?" Trent asked.

Mandarin turned to him.

"For nearly eight hours!" He growled.

Trent turned away, shoving more pizza into his mouth. Otto rubbed his head.

"Don't worry, you're doing very good." Otto chirped as he kissed Mandarin's face.

"Otto no I'm sweating!" Mandarin whined.

"That's ok!"

Willow snickered as she turned to Trent. Throughout the night both him and Brittany have received many words of congratulations and encouragement. Although Trent was a bit freaked out by the tents that were set up. Mandarin felt his face getting poked by a pizza slice.

"Otto I can't."

Otto huffed.

"Mandarin you need this! For energy!" He urged.

Mandarin sighed.

"Otto I'm in a lot of pain, I don't have time to- please tell me it doesn't have any toppings." Mandarin said, looking at the slice.

Otto shook his head.

"Nope, unless you want me to-"

Mandarin grabbed the pizza slice and began to eat it. Otto snickered at his change of mood. Tilamat then entered the room.

"So Lazuli's grandmother is asking about you. She's asking how you're holding up." He said to Mandarin.

Mandarin frowned.

"Tell her she's so lucky she'll never have to experience labor pains." He huffed.

"Oh I can imagine! When we Tabithans are able to change our genders, they were comparable to labor." Tilamat then sharply inhaled.

"And let me tell you, it hurt like hell."

Mandarin nodded, no doubt understanding.

"But yeah I'll tell her you're progressing well, by what I'm reading it seems you'll be ready in ten hours!"

Mandarin whined and rested back against the bed. Tilamat snickered.

"Don't worry, it'll go by quick." He said, handing him a cup of water.

"It better." Mandarin sighed.

Willow smiled a bit before the door opened again. Antauri entered the room and went over to Willow.

"How is your foot?" He asked, getting onto the bed and holding her hand.

Willow's cheeks flushed.

"It's beginning to feel better, Gibson said I'll be able to walk on it in a few days." She said.

Antauri smiled and turned to Mandarin.

"And how are-?" He began to ask but stopped when Mandarin slowly turned his head towards him.

Antauri blinked.

"Not very well I take it."

Mandarin growled a bit before Otto dabbed his forehead again.

"The contractions are getting worse." Otto briefly explained.

Antauri smiled a bit.

"Well hopefully that means it will be over soo-"

"Actually I said he'll be ready in ten hours." Tilamat pointed out.

Antauri blinked, his eyes widening a bit. Ooh boy that's not fun.

"Oh...well...it'll go by quickly." He assured Mandarin.

Mandarin only let out a low whine. Antauri turned to the others.

"Trent we're about to cut the cake if you wish to join us." He said, with a small smile.

Trent glanced at Mandarin before looking back at Antauri.

"And miss out on this?! Are you kidding?!"

Mandarin growled at him.

"Trent it's gonna be like this for the next ten hours, you might as well go on ahead." Tilamat advised.

"Ten hours!" Mandarin repeated before groaning.

Trent thought about it.

"Well I guess it's okay...let me know if anything funny happens." Trent chirped before walking out.,

Antauri turned to Otto.

"Otto? Are you coming?" He asked.

Otto flinched and looked back at Mandarin.

"I don't wanna leave Mandarin alone though..." He said.

Mandarin sighed loudly.

"Otto I'll be fine, you should enjoy yourself." He said.

Otto touched his face.

"But what if something happens?"

"Tilamat will take care of it, you need to celebrate with everyone else. If it gets extremely awful I'll have you come back." Mandarin said sternly before kissing him.

Otto looked down before looking at him with a small smile.

"Okay, call me if you need anything. I love you." Otto chirped before nuzzling him.

"I love you too."

Otto hopped down and left the room, mouth drooling at the thought of cake. Mandarin watched him leave before he realized that Willow and Antauri started to snuggle each other.

"...Can't you do that somewhere else?"

"Nah." Willow murmured.

Mandarin rolled his eyes before a contraction hit him again. He let out a yell before leaning over, clutching his stomach. Tilamat rushed over to him.

"Holy crap! They're finally getting to you aren't they?" Tilamat asked.

Mandarin growled at him before grimacing again.

"Sorry, just bre-"

Mandarin turned to him and pointed.

"If you ask me to do those damn breathing exercises that Sprx suggested I swear I will-!"

"Not in the rhythm you're thinking about! If you were having a human baby you would, but Tabithians are a bit different." Tilamat snapped.

"Oh so it's more embarrassing?!"

"Just breathe normally you dingus!"

Willow and Antauri could only watch on.

"You still want to cuddle?" Willow asked.

Antauri slightly nodded.

"Do you need anything? Because I got nurses on standby." Tilamat pointed out.

Mandarin panted, placing a hand on his head.

"Just...just a gallon of water. I'm going to need it." He sighed.

Tilamat nodded and peeked his head out.

"Mira! Bring me a gallon of water!"

Willow's eyes widened.

"Really Mandarin? A gallon?" She asked.

Mandarin huffed before grimacing.

"I need the hydration." He briefly said before continuing to writhe in pain.

Willow nodded, understanding. The poor guy, having to go through all this . Hopefully though, the ten hours will go by quickly.

* * *

After nearly an hour Mandarin just wanted to die. The party was over and many of the others were going to bed. Otto slept in the chair next to Mandarin's bed. Antauri and Willow still remained, still snuggling. Willow smiled a bit as Antauri slept in her arms. She felt a bit worried about how their relationship was going to work out, them being different species and all. She had so many questions in her mind right now and wasn't sure how the future would hold. However, laying there with him, made her feel very peaceful. Despite what was happening next to them. Willow smiled as she stroked his cheek, she knew they were going to be fine. Love isn't easy after all.

Mandarin sighed as the contraction subsided. He looked at the clock, which read three thirty am.

"Only...nine hours to go!" Mandarin wheezed.

"You know you can get an epidural." Willow pointed out.

Mandarin sighed as he dabbed his head with a washcloth.

"I will when I sleep, but right now I'm barely tired." He breathed.

Willow smiled sadly.

"Thank goodness you don't have to push the kid out."

"Thank Veran!" Mandarin huffed.

"Where would it even come out of?" Willow pondered.

Mandarin's eyes widened at the thought.

"Oh I don't want to imagine!" He gasped, causing Willow to laugh.

The two were silent for a bit.

"So they escaped..." Mandarin muttered.

Willow stared at the ceiling.

"Yep, but we'll get them the next time they show up." She said, smiling a bit.

Mandarin smirked.

"Good, that way when he comes back I will be ready to kick that little fake." He said.

"Oh yeah I bet! Wait, what are you gonna do about Lazuli though?" Willow asked.

Mandarin thought for a moment.

"Maybe I'll talk to your mother about babysitting her."

Willow nodded.

"I'm sure she'd be fine with that."

Tilamat sat down, watching a movie on his laptop. He decided to take a small break for a while until he had to check on Mandarin and the baby again. Mandarin sipped on his water before resting back. The overall silence was pleasing to him, especially right now. He rested a hand on his stomach as he closed his eyes.

He then felt surging pain, almost as if someone was stabbing several small knives into his stomach. He yelled as everyone got up.

"What is it?" Otto asked.

"I don't know, it feels as if something bit me." Mandarin said.

Tilamat frowned before he tapped a few keys on his laptop. His eyes widened.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" He breathed.

Antauri and Otto got up.

"What? What is it?" Mandarin asked, holding his abdomen.

Tilamat froze a bit before quickly getting up. He darted towards the door and peeked his head out.

"Get the anesthesia! She's already biting!" He ordered.

The tone of the situation quickly turned from paranoia to intense fear.

"What do you mean she's biting?!" Willow asked.

Tilamat turned to them.

"That baby's coming and it's gonna come right now. Someone please get Gibson, I'm gonna need him!"

"Yes doctor." One of the nurses quickly said before darting to Gibson's lab.

Mandarin barely moved, unsure of what to do. He felt Otto's small hands on his. He slowly looked down at him.

Otto fearfully looked up at him.

"You're gonna be ok, you're gonna be ok!" He assured him.

Mandarin couldn't respond as Gibson nearly tripped in, along with several nurses. Antauri clutched Willow's hand as they brought in the anesthesia. Mandarin grimaced as the pain surged up again.

Tilamat looked at one of the nurses.

"Get Willow's bed out of here, we need to operate in here!"

"What?!"

"You heard me!"

One of the nurses took the bed that Willow was sitting on and began to push it away. Willow turned her body around.

"Mandarin! You're gonna be fine!" She called out.

Mandarin wasn't sure how true that was going to be. Otto kept holding onto his hand until he felt Gibson touch his shoulder.

"Otto you're going to have to leave too." He said.

Otto quickly shook his head.

"No, not happening. I'm staying here." He denied.

"Otto we need to be quick as hell, you have to go out and wait. We won't let anything happen to him- Mira the vein is right there!" Tilamat snapped.

Otto shook, there was no way he was leaving Mandarin. Not like this, not when he needed him. He suddenly felt Mandarin's hand rest on top of his. Otto looked back at him.

"Otto, you're going to have to go." Mandarin shakily said.

Otto's eyes widened and he shook his head again.

"Not happening! I won't leave you!"

"Otto you have to! I don't want you to leave either but I have no idea what's going to happen. It's safest if you go with Willow and Antauri." Mandarin said.

Otto's lower lip trembled. He slowly nodded.

"Just...just be safe." He muttered before jumping up and kissing him.

They held onto the kiss for a while before Otto jumped down. He quickly walked out, holding back tears. Mandarin watched him leave as the mask was put on his snout.

"Alright ladies, and Gibson, let's get to work!" Tilamat said, putting on his gloves.

* * *

Chiro and the others rushed up when they heard the yelling. They saw Willow's bed out as Otto stared down at the floor in fear.

"What happened?" Chiro asked.

Antauri looked up at them, worried.

"Lazuli began biting, they have to get her out." He said.

Everyone froze in fear.

"Man, that kid is impatient." Sprx chuckles nervously.

"No kidding." Willow murmured.

Nova noticed Otto and went over to him. She placed a hand on his arm.

"Are you ok?"

Otto looked at her, tears stinging his eyes.

"I'm just so scared. I should be with him but..."

Nova smiled and side hugged him.

"He'll be fine, Gibson and Tilamat are taking care of him." She said.

Otto sniffled and nodded.

Trent rubbed his neck.

"Man, I can't imagine how he feels right now." He muttered.

Willow stared at the tent's door, anxiety filling her.

"All we can do for right now is wait, that's the best thing we can do for them." Antauri said to the others.

Everyone agreed to that, despite the anxiety and dread that was hanging in the air.

For the next few hours all they could hear from the tent were several murmurs and random occurrences of "What is that?!"

And Tilamat saying things like "Ask the Alchemist! He made this body not me!" Or "Mira you've worked on several aliens! This shouldn't be that weird to you!"

Some of the others decided to pass the time by playing video games or just trying to distract themselves. Otto watched the door at times, just hoping that things will go okay.

Willow looked down at the floor as Antauri talked to Chiro. Amanda snored next to her as she curled up on the floor.

"It's so tense, I hate it." She thought.

It was at six fifty in the morning when Tilamat suddenly yelled, "Guys! You might wanna cover your ears!"

"Why?" Chiro asked.

"Trust me just cover them!"

The team looked at each other before covering their ears. They then heard a unbelievably loud piercing screech. They covered their ears harder as many of them winced. After a minute or so the noise slowly died down. Otto slowly smiled as tears of relief flew down his face.

Everyone got up and stared at the door as they heard several noises.

One tent's door suddenly opened up as Gibson stumbled out, exhausted.

"Monkey doodle that was difficult!" He huffed.

Everyone rushed over to him.

"Gibson how-?!"

Gibson held his hands up.

"She's fine, everything went well." He said smiling.

Otto leaned forward.

"And Mandarin?"

Gibson smiled even more.

"They're just patching him back up, he's going to be out for quite a while."

Otto dropped to the floor, letting out one huge sigh. One of the nurses, who had light orange skin and blue eyes, slowly walk out. She looked towards the team.

"I...I've never seen a body like his before..." She breathed.

Sprx snickered.

"Neither have we."

Amanda smiled excitedly.

"Can we see her?" She asked.

Gibson wasn't sure how to answer that but the nurse stepped foreword.

"She's getting cleaned up, clothed, and documented, but once I hear back from one of the other nurses you can go in." She said with a smile.

She then looked over at Willow.

"Would you like a wheel chair ma'am?" She asked.

Willow nodded.

"Sounds great!"

* * *

The team walked down the hall to one of the tents. They then saw a wall with a long window as they saw many machines and what seemed to be a incubator. They peered in as Tilamat was writing something down with one hand and holding something else with another. He looked to what he was holding and said something, causing him to laugh a bit. Otto pressed his face against the glass, growing more and more impatient. Tilamat noticed them and waved a hand, urging them to come in.

Everyone, most of them quicker than they should, entered the room. Tilamat smiled and turned towards them.

"She snapped at me earlier, but she's a healthy sweet little thing."

He fully turned to reveal Lazuli as she clung to his chest. Her skin was a slightly dark blue with she had full darker blue lips and red eyes. She also had a small fang poke out from one side of her mouth. Her hair resembled shapes of large braids as she tilted her head curiously. Otto covered his mouth as everyone 'aww'd at her.

"She's so pretty!" Otto breathed.

"And very chatty, every time I talked to her she squeaked back." Tilamat chirped as Lazuli looked up at him.

"C-can we-?" Amanda began to ask.

"Hold her? Of course, you just need to sit down." Tilamat chirped.

Otto sat in the chair next to the incubator, Lazuli's eyes set on him. Tilamat leaned down to Otto. The small infant waved her arms a bit as he leaned.

"She's pretty big so just hold her like a one year old. Also she might nip you but she's only being friendly." Tilamat advised.

Otto nodded and as soon as Lazuli was set in his arms, she sniffed him. She then proceeded to nuzzle him and squeak loudly. A huge smile grew across Otto's face.

"Awwwww! She likes you!" Jinmay said.

"Well of course! It's Otto!" Sprx laughed.

Otto kept smiling as Lazuli nuzzled him, still squeaking.

"Hi sweetie." He said softly, causing Lazuli to look up at him.

Otto then looked up at Tilamat.

"Did she see Mandarin?" He asked.

"Only for a split second before we had to clean and clothe her. She tried to wriggle out of the nurse's arms."

Otto snickered as Lazuli nuzzled him again.

Nova cleared her throat.

"Um share?" She huffed, holding out her arms.

Otto blinked, snapping back into reality.

"Oh! Right!"

When she was handed to Nova, Lazuli also sniffed her. Nova narrowed her eyes.

"Hey can you open your mouth a bit?"

Lazuli tilted her head, confused, before Nova pulled up one of her lips which revealed very sharp teeth instead of just gums. Her eyes widened as Lazuli closed her mouth and frowned a bit.

"She does have sharp teeth." She said.

Tilamat snickered.

"Don't worry, by six months they should smooth out...though you might want to keep any precious valuables away and make sure she doesn't rip anything up."

Lazuli frowned a bit more before softly head butting Nova's chin. As she was passed around, she got to know many of her new family members. Sprx was next to hold her as she was plopped into her arms.

"Hey! You're the one that's been kicking your mom awake aren't cha?" Sprx asked.

Lazuli just stared at him.

"Sprx you know she couldn't control that." Gibson sighed.

"I know, I was just teasing her..." Sprx continued talking while Lazuli's eyes were set on Sprx's hand.

She grabbed his thumb and stared at it before putting her mouth on it and biting it.

"Ow!" Sprx exclaimed before frowning at her.

"Excuse me what are you doing?" He asked, while Lazuli just stared at him.

"Wait does it feel like she's biting it off or is it more softer?" Tilamat asked.

"I don't know! I guess softer- wait she's still biting though!" Sprx huffed.

Tilamat smiled.

"Oh that just means she likes you." He said.

Sprx frowned at Lazuli again, who let go and head butted him gently. As if to say, 'sorry'. She was then passed to Amanda.

"You're such a cutie pie aren't you?" Amanda cooed.

Willow smiled as Lazuli frowned at the baby talk. How could someone like Mandarin create something as cute as this? Lazuli stuck out her tongue slightly, still frowning.

"Oh you little butt!" Amanda huffed, but smiled.

Willow snickered. Amanda booped her nose slightly before turning to Willow.

"Your turn." She said, making Willow stiffen.

"Oh boy, I'm not good with holding babies." She gulped.

Amanda playfully smacked her arm.

"Come on now of course you are, you babysat for the Hirota twins and you were great!" She said.

Willow blushed slightly, embarrassed, before realizing that Amanda was giving Lazuli to her.

"At least give me a second!" Willow huffed before holding Lazuli.

Lazuli stared up at her for a second before resting her head against her chest, getting comfortable. The room became silent.

"Wow she's really comfortable with you." Jinmay said softly.

"Maybe when she starts crying we should give her to Willow." Sprx said.

Willow ignored him and smiled. She stroked her head, causing Lazuli to murmur.

"Oh yeah, you're Mandarin's kid alright." She thought.

A thought then popped into Gibson's mind.

"Oh! Could she walk on all fours yet?" Gibson asked.

"Gibson she's a newborn!"

Tilamat shrugged.

"Back in the old days, newborn Tabithians had to learn to walk on all fours for survival. So she probably could, it'd just have to be taught to her." He said.

Gibson nodded. Willow held Lazuli up a bit.

"How bout it kiddo? Think you can try?" She asked, receiving the small child to wave her limbs around a bit.

"Mip!" She squeaked.

Tilamat then took her and set her on the floor.

"She's already learned to pull herself up so all she needs to do is move." He sighed as Lazuli pulled herself up.

Lazuli looked around a bit before Tilamat and Sprx knelt to her level.

"Okay so just propel yourself forward using your hands and legs." Sprx chirped.

Lazuli stared at him.

"I think you have to show her Sprx, hang on." Tilamat said before pulling out his phone.

He turned the phone to her with a video small cat walking around.

"That's how you walk Lazuli, like that." He chirped.

Lazuli stared at the phone before trying to grab it. Tilamat sighed.

"No just do what the kitty does."

Lazuli tilted her head a bit, chirping.

"I think she doesn't understand." Antauri said.

"I've been a doctor for three years I know how this goes!"

Otto slowly went away from his seat and knelt down to her.

"Lazuli, just watch me." He chirped as we got on all fours and began to trudge away from her.

Lazuli's eyes widened as she leaned foreword. Otto was on the other side of the room and waved at her.

"Come on Lazuli! You got this!"

Lazuli blinked before looking down at her hands. She moved a bit before moving her hand...and scampering towards him. She nearly jumped on him as she nuzzled his side, claps filling the room.

Otto smiled and picked her up.

"That a girl! You're so smart!" He chirped as Lazuli squeaked at him.

Tilamat got back up and sighed, a bit peeved that his method didn't work this time. Lazuli tried to grab for Otto's face before stopping. She then started to whine.

"Awww what's wrong?"

"I think she's getting hungry, which is a great time for you all to go to bed." Tilamat said, causing the others to groan.

"Hey you've been up for hours! You all need your sleep." He huffed as Otto gave Lazuli to him.

Antauri nodded.

"He's right, besides we must help repair the city."

Sprx groaned a bit, wanting to relax after last night.

"Don't worry Sprx, you get to take down streamers and clean the park!" Nova chirped, patting his shoulder.

"Fun..."

Everyone began to leave the room, minus Willow and Otto.

Willow stretched her arms.

"Well I gotta go to bed too. See you later twerp." She said as Lazuli was being fed Glorx sludge.

Lazuli only stared at her and then to Otto.

"Bye Otto." Tilamat said.

"I don't want to...leave." He muttered, his head bobbing.

Willow wheeled over to him and patted his head.

"She's probably tired too, you'll see her later." She said, picking him up.

Otto pouted but waved to her.

"Night sweetie."

Lazuli raised an arm to him but focused back on her food.

Otto smiled sleepily as Willow wheeled out of the room. He couldn't wait until Mandarin woke up, just so he could see the two bond.

* * *

Now wait, before you say babies can't crawl when they pop out...yeah they can't. But these are alien babies that I made up so at least I got that. Anywho thanks for reading!


	40. Chapter 40

This is it. The final chapter. I just want to say thank you so much for everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, and followed this story till now. After this I won't be updating anything because I will be focusing on my next fic. But I promise I will finish it soon and get started on the sequel of this fic, "Heavy Rotation.". Please enjoy. "An Excuse Maybe" song belongs to AKB48

* * *

Three hours later, Tilamat and Lazuli were asleep. Tilamat snored in the chair as Lazuli lifted her head. She looked around before sniffing the air. She hasn't seen her mother all morning and she was getting antsy. As nice as Tilamat was, she knew that wasn't her mommy. Lazuli turned to him and squeaked loudly at him, but the doctor didn't budge, causing her to frown. She squeaked again, louder, but no results. She huffed before looking down at the floor, there was no way she was waiting until he woke up. However, the question then lied as to how she was going to get down.

She could jump down, but that probably wouldn't be safe. She then noticed a shelf next to the incubator and frowned. She looked back at Tilamat before getting up on all fours. This was the first time she felt fear as she looked at the shelf.

Lazuli looked at the distance between the incubator and the shelf and leapt. She landed on the top of it and wheezed. That was too close! She then strolled over to the edge and looked down, a basket of blankets conveniently next to it. This was the second time she felt fear as she looked down. She whined a bit but remembered that she had to find her mom. Lazuli then jumped down and landed safely into the basket. She looked around the fabrics and wanted to play in it, but maybe later. She peered her head out of the basket and hopped out. She quietly made her way past Tilamat as she scratched the bottom of the door. They didn't close the door all the way much to her surprise. It opened and she looked out into the hallway. It was very quiet and the halls were empty. She looked around before sniffing the air.

He was near! Lazuli could barely hold back her energy as she scampered out of the room and down the hall. The silence was eerie, not something she preferred. However, she was too hopped up on adrenaline and anticipation to care. When she saw the skirt of a nurse she hid behind one of the folds of the tent.

"And then I said that he was lying through his teeth, but that cheating jerk denied everything!" The nurse huffed as she walked past her and out of the halls.

Lazuli blinked before sniffing the air again, he was so close! She chirped as she darted down the hall, up to one of the tents. She scratched on the door and waited for a nurse to open the door. No response. She pushed the door open and entered the recovery room. It was a bit dark as she saw a large bed and many other things. She sniffed the air again, his scent was prominent in this room. She saw a large figure turning over in a bed. Lazuli squeaked loudly, it was him, mommy!

Lazuli went up to the bed and tried to jump, but she couldn't. She huffed and began to try several ways to get up. She tried running from a distance and jumping but that didn't work. She tried to claw her way up, but she only fell on her butt. She growled a bit, frustrated. How was she gonna get up there? Her mommy seemed to be asleep and no matter how many times she squeaked, he didn't wake up. Lazuli then noticed the rails that were connected to the bed and a lightbulb went off in her head. She went over to them and looked up. They seemed to reach the top of the bed, and had several ledges for her to climb on. Putting one foot and on hand on the rails, she climbed up and landed on the bed, face first. When she lifted her head, her mother's face was the first thing she saw. Lazuli's eyes softened as she went up to him. She sniffed him, making sure it was him before nuzzling him. Her lungs filled with unconditional love as she nuzzled his face. She sat next to him, looking around the room, occasionally looking back at Mandarin. Lazuli yawned, suddenly tired again. She looked up towards the pillows and hopped onto them. She circled around one area before plopping down and fell asleep, happy she found her mommy.

After an hour Mandarin slowly woke up as he lifted himself up. He felt out of it, both from the anesthetic wearing off and from the c-section. He felt the staples on his stomach before looking around. Mandarin began to look at the clock when he noticed Lazuli sleeping on the pillow next to him.

He was at a loss for words, his mind and emotions going in many different directions. They ranged from 'oh Veran this is really her, my small daughter' to 'how did she even get here? Please don't tell me they left her unattended and she wound up here! She could have been seriously hurt!' to 'She is so precious how is this even possible?' to 'oh god I could have crushed her with my hands I am already failing as a parent'. He gently touched the side of Lazuli's face with one finger, feeling so many emotions. He couldn't help but smile as the small infant made several sleepy noises.

All of the terrible morning sickness, cravings, heaviness, labor, and unbearable mood swings, oh how they were so worth it! Lazuli groaned before quickly waking up. She piped up her head as Mandarin took his hand back. Immediately she bounced over to him and nuzzled him. Mandarin had no idea what to do with himself right now as Lazuli chirped loudly.

"H-hello..." He said softly, laying his hand out for her to crawl onto.

Lazuli squeaked before crawling into his hand and nuzzling it. He slowly picked her up and held her close. She was so small compared to him, he felt a bit nervous on how holding her was going to work. However for now holding her in his hand worked fine. Lazuli grabbed his face and head butted it, clearly happy.

"How did you get in here?" Mandarin questioned, knowing he wouldn't get an answer.

Lazuli blinked before continuing to nuzzle him. Mandarin sighed, who knows? Thankfully she's safe. Suddenly the door burst open with a worried Tilamat.

"Mandarin I am the worst doctor ev-!" He began when he saw Lazuli cuddling up with Mandarin.

Mandarin waved.

"Good morning." He greeted.

Tilamat sighed in relief before glaring at the small infant.

" **You**!" He huffed before going over to them.

Lazuli looked up at him curiously.

"Don't just escape from your incubator! What if you got hurt?" He scolded.

Lazuli tilted her head, he wouldn't wake up! Why should she wait? Mandarin snickered as Tilamat shook his head.

"You're already causing trouble, great."

Mandarin nuzzled the top of Lazuli's head.

"She's my small trouble maker." He chirped.

Tilamat huffed but smiled, feeling the love between them. Mandarin booped her nose before looking at him.

"I take it the others have already seen her?" He asked as Lazuli squeaked.

Tilamat nodded.

"Oh yeah, she loves Otto." He said.

Mandarin turned to his daughter with a smile.

"Well of course, it's Otto."

If Lazuli had the ability to smile right now she could, for now she could only squeak and nuzzle him.

"You should have seen her with Willow, she got really comfortable with her." Tilamat said.

Mandarin nodded, that didn't surprise him. With what they went through and how strong their friendship became, it only made sense for Lazuli to feel the same way.

The door knocked and before Tilamat could open the door, a light blue Tabithian woman burst into the room.

"Where is my niece?!" She demanded.

Mandarin held her up.

"Right here."

The Tabithan's eyes watered as she went over to him.

"Oh! She's so big and beautiful!" She said as she took Lazuli in her arms.

Tilamat waved as he left the room.

"Nice to see you too Helix." He chirped.

Helix waved back before looking down at Lazuli again. The small baby chirped loudly before trying to grab her necklace.

"So how are you?" She asked him.

"Sore and tired." Mandarin sighed.

"But happy, I take it?"

Mandarin nodded as he fully sat up, watching the two bond. Helix smiled as tears stung her eyes.

"She looks so much like Liza." She muttered.

Mandarin looked away a bit sadly. She does. The pictures of Liza and Galison that he's seen before, he could see a lot of resemblance in her. The poor thing will never get to know them.

Lazuli tilted her head before gurgling. Helix wiped her eyes.

"No! No tears! This is a happy day." She told herself before placing her cheek against Lazuli's.

She looked towards Mandarin.

"You keep her safe now, you hear?" She huffed.

"Trust me, when she lives here she is going to quickly learn how to protect herself."

"Oh I bet! Still! Keep my niece safe." She said.

Mandarin nodded.

A green blur rushed into the room and onto the bed.

"Mandy!" Otto whined, hugging him.

"Otto careful! I have staples on my stomach!" Mandarin huffed.

Otto sniffled before nuzzling him.

"I'm just so happy you're both ok..." He muttered.

Mandarin sighed as he pulled Otto close to him. Lazuli squeaked loudly as she saw Otto, surprised.

"I'm fine now, sore and tired but fine."

"I know, you just made me worried." Otto huffed.

Mandarin kissed the top of his head. Otto curled up with him before realizing Lazuli was in the room.

"Oh! I'm sorry I didn't see you there!"

Lazuli squeaked and tried to wriggle out of her aunt's arms.

"Oh boy! She wants you bad!" Helix snickered before giving Lazuli to Otto.

Otto blinked.

"Who are you?" He asked with a straight face.

"Helix Ama, Lazuli's biological aunt." Mandarin briefly said.

Otto nodded, getting it.

"Oh ok! Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too."

Otto smiled before looking at Lazuli, who clung to his chest.

"So I see you've met your mommy huh?" Otto asked.

Lazuli squeaked in response, glancing at Mandarin. The four bonded for several minutes, Otto resting his head against Mandarin's chest.

"So I take it when you finish recovering, you're gonna train with us?" Otto asked.

"That's without question. I want to be ready when that little fake comes around again." Mandarin huffed.

Otto stuck out his bottom lip.

"So no pudgy Mandy?" He asked, causing Helix to snicker.

"No! The baby weight would probably go away quicker since my body won't be able to keep it." Mandarin huffed, cheeks flushing.

Otto pouted.

"Awww, but you'd be cute chubby!"

"No I wouldn't!" Mandarin huffed, causing Lazuli to squeak.

"Don't agree with him!" Mandarin huffed.

Helix snickered at the sight, knowing that Lazuli was in good hands.

* * *

Willow looked around as the others walked in and out of the recovery room Mandarin was in. Arwen and Brittany were peeved that no one called them to tell them the baby was here, but their irritability subsided when they saw Lazuli. She looked over to the med bay where Diamanda was in.

"So how is she?" She asked Gibson.

Gibson looked up at her.

"I'd say she's almost recovered, her Sueronian body must heal very quickly." He said.

Willow nodded before looking into the med bay. She wheeled into the room and went up to Diamanda's tank. She couldn't help but wonder how she was. Even after everything she has done, Willow knew that she had no idea of her own lineage. She sort of wished that she knew sooner, yet if she didn't Willow wondered how it would change things.

Trent walked into the med bay and went up to her.

"Marie said she'd be happy to take Diamanda home to the council. She said they'd brief her in and help her reconnect with others." He said.

Willow nodded a bit, not saying anything. The two were silent for a good few minutes.

"It's funny, a year ago I hated her guts. A year ago I only had you and Amanda as friends and we just went around trying to help others...now look at us." Willow said, staring into the glass tanks reflection.

Trent stared into it too.

"Yeah...you have a lover and I'm a celebrity..."

"You haven't been in Starlights for that long man!" Willow laughed.

Trent pouted.

"Still counts." He huffed.

Willow rolled her eyes.

"Things have changed so much...I'm kinda nervous on how things are going to be from now on." Trent admitted.

Willow looked up at him.

"I feel the same, but I think we're gonna be fine." She said, taking a sharp object out of her pocket and cutting her hair back to its original length.

Trent blinked in surprise before nodding. They heard tapping noises coming from the glass and turned to see Diamanda awake.

Trent's eyes widened before he ran out to get Gibson. Diamanda tapped the glass a bit more before looking at Willow. She held up a hand, signaling her to wait. Trent came back with Gibson as he rushed to the control panel, pressing a few buttons. The tank emptied before opening. Diamanda nearly fell before Trent caught her.

"I-thank you." Diamanda breathed before shakily standing up.

Diamanda held onto the edge of the control panel. She looked over at Willow and Gibson.

"U-um how long have I been out?" She asked.

"Only a day, you were a bit malnourished and injured but you seemed to be healed up alright. I just suggest you rest for a while." Gibson said.

Diamanda nodded slightly and her eyes widened when she saw Willow's cast and wheelchair.

"What...what did that bastard do to you?!" She asked.

Willow smiled and lifted her leg.

"He really burned my foot that's what happened." She said.

Diamanda glared and growled.

"Don't worry, he's gone for now and we have this for you." Trent said, holding out Diamanda's choker.

Diamanda's eyes widened as she was handed it. She quickly put it around her neck, not wasting any time. She sighed as all of her power came back to her.

"Ohh that feels so much better!" She said, her strength coming back.

"So I take it you're well enough to go to Sueronia?" Gibson asked.

Diamanda turned to him. She could go home now, her home. She could finally learn about who she is and why she lost her memory. She didn't want to go back, she needed to go back.

She smirked.

"That is without question, nerd." She said.

Gibson sighed angrily, not liking being called 'nerd' but at least she was happy. Trent stepped aside.

"You want to go see Marie? She says she can take you home." He offered.

Diamanda smiled but her smile dropped when she made eye contact with Willow.

"Umm...can I talk to Willow alone first?" She asked.

Trent and Gibson looked at each other before slowly leaving the room. Diamanda looked around before pulling up a chair and sitting down. Willow watched as her past enemy sat down in front of her. Diamanda held onto her dress before speaking.

"I just wanted to apologize for all that I've done to you for nearly the past twenty years." She began.

Willow nodded a bit, letting her continue.

"I mean, I had no realization of what I am. I didn't know that I had a choice of whether to stay like I am now or not." She said.

Willow laughed a bit.

"Me too." She said.

Diamanda chuckled a bit and smiled.

"But now that I do have choices, an actual home to go to, and possibly a family waiting for me I...I'm honestly kind of scared." She said.

Willow leaned over and touched her cold as ice hand.

"I know, believe me. I was so distraught and confused over me being half Sueronian. However I got through it thanks to the friends I made and the assurance I needed. I think the same can happen to you." She said with a smile.

Diamanda smiled and nodded slightly, having assurance of her future.

"But don't worry about before, it's all in the past now anyways. Antauri said that sometimes we have to put the past behind us for the good of others...I think that applies to our situation a bit." Willow said.

"Maybe.."

Diamanda slowly stood up.

"But again, I am sorry."

"Hey it's all good now, this is only the beginning for us."

Diamanda nodded and looked towards the door.

"I guess I'll be on my way then." She said.

Willow nodded and wheeled next to her. As they left the room and Diamanda started to leave with Trent, she turned back to Willow and some of the others.

"You know, I probably wouldn't count us as friends. Who knows? I might stick to my evil roots." She said, smirking before smiling regularly.

The team tensed at that, while Willow snickered a bit. Diamanda and Trent left, and a huge weight was lifted off everyone's shoulders. Willow felt Antauri's hand on her shoulder, and she held it.

A few days later, the Starlights were about to leave the planet to go on their debut tour. Trent and Brittany were nearly crushed by everyone's hugs.

"You call us!" Sprx huffed.

"I just got got through that with Willow! We'll call and message you!" Trent huffed before being hugged by Willow.

"You kick ass at every performance you have." She said.

"I will." He said softly.

Willow let go of him and turned to Brittany. The two of them paused before hugging each other. They held onto each other for a bit before letting go.

"The same goes for you." Willow said, holding back tears.

Brittany nodded as she wiped her eyes. She turned to Gibson and smirked. Gibson looked around, confused, as she walked over to him.

"I'm gonna miss you." She cooed.

Gibson kept looking around, hoping that this was a joke. He then looked back at her.

"Oh! I'll miss you too." He said, a small smile growing on his face.

Brittany smiled before kissing his forehead and running off. Gibson's face then turned into a similar color of Sprx's fur and collapsed. The others, minus Mandarin, Lazuli, and Willow, lost their collective shit. Lazuli frowned at everyone's reaction, wondering what the hell was so weird.

"I know, Lazuli. I don't get it either." Mandarin sighed, causing Willow to snicker.

Hours later, the ship was beginning to take off. Iris began to pack her things into the ship when she noticed her parents nearby. She turned to her other teammates.

"I'll be right back!" She called before going over to them.

Her father hugged her while her mother looked off of the side.

"You'll do great kiddo!" He said, smiling.

Iris smiled as she hugged him tighter.

"I know, thank you." She said before letting go.

She looked over to her mother, who frowned a bit before looking at her. She was silent and Iris was ready for whatever insult she had ready.

"You better fulfill that promise you made." Her mother huffed.

Iris blinked back in surprise before smiling.

"You got it!" She said before hugging her.

Her mother froze for a second before hugging back. Just then the music started up as Iris looked up at the stage. She then turned to her parents and began to back up.

"I...I'll see you later!" She called out before running to her ship.

Her mother reached out a hand, but her father held her close.

Trent and Brittany, all wearing black red and white school uniforms, were up front as their farewell song began. The team watched a ways away, watching them take off.

 _"Riding my bicycle,"_ Trent began with Brittany repeating.

 _"Down that familiar road."_ Brittany sang with Trent repeating as they danced in front of each other.

" _I'm wiping sweat from waiting in line,"_ Yui and Violet sang as they walked up next to Trent and Brittany.

" _And feeling the summer breeze."_

So a year and eight months ago, the war is over, the Skeleton king has become the Alchemist and the Hyperforce now had several new members. Amanda waved her arms goodbye while Arwen watched them, at Willow's side.

" _On our day off,"_ Marina sang while Skyla repeated.

" _If you can't make it, make sure you take care of yourself._ "

Otto hopped onto Mandarin's shoulder, who was holding Lazuli as she squeaked at the song. Mandarin was now reformed and starting a family of his own. He was unsure of whether he would rejoin them or not, however at least he was back with them and much happier than he was before.

" _I thought that we were just friends, but now I want to see you. I miss you."_

His utter confusion and frustration of Sueronians is still prevalent, at least he now knows what they are. Mandarin's overall relationship with Willow has also strengthened despite their first encounter.

The song fully kicked in as Brittany centered the group, like her mother once did.

" _Maybe, Maybe! Maybe I like you! There isn't a single cloud in the blue sky!"_ Everyone sang as the citizens cheered.

Willow smiled, seeing her best friend and previous tormenter fulfilling their dreams. Everything right now just seemed right to her. She finally had friends who like her for her, a planet she loves and wants to protect, and to top it all off a boyfriend who she truly loves. The stage began to lift from the ground as they began to take off. Antauri floated next to Willow and kissed her cheek.

" _Maybe! Maybe! Maybe I like you!"_

As for her personally, she still had insecurities about being half Sueronian. There were still many things she didn't understand about herself or her kind, however as long as her friends and family were with her, she knew she would be just fine. Especially if a snark like Mandarin was with her too.

" _Even though I know it's love,"_ Starlights sang, waving good bye to their fans.

As for their future? It was uncertain, however whatever comes their way they'll fight it together. It always worked before.

However, maybe that's just an excuse.

" _It's just an excuse, maybe!"_

The ship took off, the music still echoing through the air.

* * *

Thank you for reading!

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